Turbulence
by ride-on-the-woff-side
Summary: After spending two weeks in Japan competing in a fancy-schmancy Karate competition, all Marco can think about his getting home to his family, friends, and his girlfriend Star. When he finally gets home, things aren't quite exactly how he left them.
1. An Introduction

**yo so first things first this story is just an rp i'm doing with my good buddy, i am just reformatting and editing it to post it here. what you are about read is written by both of us. enjoy nerds**

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'It must really suck to be Marco Diaz right now' thought nobody as Marco was at the peak of his high school career. He was happy and everyone could see it, his smile radiated positive energy. Why you ask? Well he had just finished sophomore year with high honor roll, had gotten his black belt during the school year, and oh right- he and Star were finally an item. They were that couple that everyone was waiting on to get together. And to make things better, he had been selected to compete in an international martial arts tournament in Japan. Not only would it be televised, but he would be representing the American West Coast. Star was super proud of him, but was a bit sad, as it meant she would not be seeing Marco for two weeks while he was away. A small amount of time, sure, but for 15 year olds, that was an eternity. School had been out for about a week, and it was the night before Marco's flight, so the couple had decided to go out to a nice restaurant for one last date before not being able to see each other for two weeks. Sitting in a fine restaurant was never really Star's 'talent'. She was kicking her legs under the table and had each elbow placed on the fine wood top where she held her own head up while chewing on her straw. " Two weeks huh?" She sighed feeling a little guilty about feeling down at such a nice outing with her boyfriend. "Yeahhh... But don't worry Star, It'll be over before you know it. Besides i'll have my phone on me, we can text or call any time, it'll be over before you know it. " He reassured and picked up a sopaipilla and offered it to her. Star took the treat but didn't take a bite as soon as she got it, like her norm, instead she looked it over a moment watching the sugar bits reflect the sim lighting of the establishment. " What if something happens?" she popped the treat into her mouth and sat up a bit. " I mean, why does this have to be in japan, why not here like all your other ones?" she pouted and crossed her arms.

"Japan is where martial arts like Karate originated- it's only customary. Besides, nothing is going to happen. People fly back and forth from Japan to the states all the time. You have nothing to worry about." said Marco, reaching out and taking her hand. "Plus you'll be able to watch me on TV! And it's only two weeks- we have the entire rest of the summer to do whatever we want." said Marco. Star looked up at him and smiled with a sly look on her face. "Anything, huh?" She said flirtatiously. Marco gave a nervous laugh. "Aahh hah... Anything within reason Star." He corrected himself in blushed sweat. " Any way, " He waved away the topic. "I just want you to not worry okay? We have been apart for way worse reasons, I always come back don't I?" Star gave a small smile and a little huff as she hated to admit that he was right. "Yeahhhh... i guess so... " " So how about we cheer up and enjoy these treats. When we get back to my house we can watch movies or cartoons till I have to go. I'll stay up all night with you. I can sleep on the plane in the morning. Sound good?" He offered. "Sounds amazing." Star chirped feeling a bit better about everything. They have been dimensions apart, this was nothing, she convinced herself. After the meal was done, Marco paid the bill and the two departed. "So, gonna bring me back anything neato from Japan?" asked Star as her fingers intertwined with Marco's. "Of course I will~ I'll find something you'll like. They're big on toys and trinkets and colorful shiny things over there. Y'know, cute stuff.. but none of it is as cute as you~" said Marco with a smirk. "Pffft, you're so cheesy!" giggled Star as they walked down the street. Eventually they got back home and went upstairs. "Let me change into something comfy~" said Marco as he went to go grab a shirt and basketball shorts- they had both dressed up a little for their date, and while the idea was cute, they were both itching for comfy clothes.

The two went into their separate rooms and changed. It took no time for star to slip on her night gown and hurry back out to the living room where she flopped down on the sofa and flip on the TV, hunting for a good show to binge as she remained sprawled out over the whole couch. Marco took a moment more than star to change and walked out of his room checking his phone for any important emails about the upcoming trip in the morning. everything seemed in place. His bags where packed and his mind was ready to push his body to its limits in the tournament . He tucked the phone away and casually picked up Star's legs, sat down, and let them fall back on his lap. "Okay, all set" said Marco. "What should we watch?" asked Star, remote in hand. "Hmm, something scary?" asked Marco. "Ehh.. what about that new mystery drama on TBS?" asked Star. "Sounds good to me!" said Marco with a smile. The show was currently on a marathon, so it was perfect for them to watch all night. After a few episodes, they found themselves cuddling up very closely. Star smiled as Marco played with her hair and returned her little kisses.

Meanwhile, Angie and Rafael both had retired to their bedroom for the night. Angie was showing a decent amount of baby belly and the smallest activities started to tire her more than usual. So it wasn't uncommon for the parents of the house to go and hide in the bedroom where Rafael would spoil his wife with dinner in beds, massages, and of course the regular comforts he could provide to her to help make these last few months easier what ever way he could. The two kids snuggled in close on the sofa. Marco ran his hand through Star's long hair several times as she latched onto him like velcro. They where drowsy by now and their kisses where simple and sweet.

After staying up a solid half of the night, the two drowsy teens fell asleep on the couch in each other's arms. They woke a few hours to Raphael shaking Marco awake. "Mijo! It's time to get dressed! We have to get to the airport!" He exclaimed as Marco and Star both groaned, not wanting to get up. "Aye yai yai!" He grabbed Marco by his shoulders, picked him up and set him down standing up on the rug floor. "Vámonos!" Being lifted woke Marco up instantly. Still waking up, shocked and a little confused, he stood there a moment stiff while Star groaned, rolling on the sofa slowly waking up herself. Raphael gave Marco a little shove to try and get him going. "Lets go!" the father exclaimed. "Okayyyy, Dad, give us five minutes, we'll meet you in the car" said Marco as he dragged Star off the couch and they went upstairs and quickly brushed their teeth and got dressed as Raphael helped Angie into the car and loaded Marco's luggage. Once the teens were in the car, they were finally off to the airport. Luckily they were leaving hours in advance, which was good seeing as they got into a buttload of traffic getting to the Los Angeles Airport. "Are we almost there? I need the little interdimensional princess's room, and traffic hasn't moved an inch!" lamented Star. "Honey, please, try being pregnant" retorted Angie with a chuckle. "Don't worry Star, it'll let up soon." said Marco, taking her hand and smiling. Eventually traffic did let up, but the airport was crowded, and Rafael was taking his sweet ass time finding a parking spot. Star, not being the most patient person in the world, decided to speak up. "PLEEEAAASE MR. DIAZ" She whined "JUST LET ME OUT HERE, FOR CORN'S SAKE!" The car pulled over and Angie, Star, and Marco got out, while Raf continued his quest to find decent parking. "Alright you two, stay close, It's easy to get lost at these places." said Angie. Marco agreed, not that he would be one to get lost, but Star for sure could get into some serious trouble at a place like this. They don't take explosions to lightly, and Star could quite literally be an explosive gal'. The three walked, well, Marco and his mother walked. Star skipped trying to hurry along but pregnant women don't tend to walk to fast. Marco could see she wanted to complain, but didn't want to make his mother feel bad about her speed when she was already struggling as is. so she just skipped more quickly in place.

"Now, Star, please do not use your magic in the airport, because you will get detained." said Marco. "What's detained?" asked Star. "Airport jail, basically. You don't wanna go their. They'll think you're a terrorist." said Marco. "What's a terrorist?" asked Star, looking at Marco with a confused face. "Seriously? Terrorism isn't a concept on Mewni?" he exclaimed as Star burst into a fit of giggles. "Of course I know what a terrorist is! I'm just messing with you~" said Star, booping Marco's nose. "Hey, there's the bathroom! Why don't you and my Mom go while I grab us some breakfast from one of these places?" suggested Marco. Before he could get an answer, Star was already sprinting towards the lady's room, with Angie practically waddling after her. Marco rolled his eyes and went up to a breakfast place to get some food. He got chorizo, egg and cheese burritos for him, Star, and his dad, as well as two egg and cheese burritos for his pregnant mother; breakfast meats were making her sick to her stomach. Angie and Star came out of the bathroom and met Marco with the food. As they ate, Rafael had finally caught up with them.

Marco checked into his flight, which was another long line, and then they went to airport security. This would be the difficult part due to the fact that this is where Marco would part ways from his girlfriend and parents- only people actually getting on planes could go past security. "Alright mijo, remember to keep in touch." Said Raf giving his son a hefty proud slap on the back. "Knock em' dead my little ninja," Angie encouraged on her son. "I will guys... Thanks, you are the best parents a kid like me could ever ask for." He gave a hug to his father and received a kiss from his mother. Then he turned to Star who was gripping the skirt of her dress nervously. " I'll be back before you know it." He said softly pulling her into an embrace unlike the one he fave to his parents. It was soft, and tender hug, but Star hugged back like a bear, as if she where trying to squeeze the life out of him. " You better, the second your late, Imma start to hunt you down like Toffee, got it?" said Star, making Marco chuckled. "Got it...I love you.." He said as he pulled her into another hug. Star returned the hug, squeezing him once more. "I love you too, Marco." she said, smiling. He gave her a kiss and Marco gave his final farewells and I love you's to his parents. Once through security that was it for the three who remained on the other side. "Alright Mija, lets get you home." Raphael said to Angie who was getting tired of being on her feet already. They started to walk off but Star hesitated where she was a moment, watching security to really make sure that Marco wasn't going to run back out with a fleet of monsters chasing him. But nothing of the sort happened. His parents called and caught her attention, she sighed turned and hurried to them so that they could return home.

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 **woooo hell yeahhhhh intro chapter done! don't worry. it will pick up soon. stay tuned for chapter 2 ;)**


	2. That's What You Get For Flying Delta

The whole way home Star was somber and distant, she was missing Marco already. Marco was also already missing Star and his parents, the airport was a much more lonely place when you're alone. Eventually it was time to board, and after waiting for another son, Marco's boarding group was called, and we climbed on the plane. His seat was next to a cute hispanic girl, who looked to be around Marco's age. She was sitting in the middle seat- Marco's seat was the one closest to the window, according to his ticket. "Oh um, excuse me, miss? Can I get past you? I have seat 28c." He said with a smile. "Oh, of course! Go right ahead." She said politely as Marco got situated. Her accent was very present, but her English was flawless. Marco pegged her as Brazilian- his roots were largely in Mexico, but his Abuela had many Brazilian friends over when he was little, so he recognized the dialect. "Forgive me for asking, but are you from Brazil?" He asked, switching over to spanish. The girl nodded. "Si, you guessed it. You too?" She asked noting Marco's appearance as well. "No no, just your regular mex." He gave a little laugh. She looked the boy over some more and found that he was rather cute and friendly. She didn't know him yet she felt comfortable around him, he just carried himself in a way that was easy to trust. "So where are you headed?" she asked, with a head tilt. "I'm competing in the Martial Arts Tournament in Tokyo, representing the American West Coast." said Marco, which earned a surprised look from the girl. "No kidding? I'm competing as well! I am representing Brazil. Well, Rio De Janeiro specifically, but I'm the only contestant from Brazil." She said with a smile. "Wow! That's crazy. What's your name?" asked Marco. "Mia. Mia Vasquez. I suppose we'll be competing with each other." said Mia with a smile, pushing her long hair out of her face. "I'm Marco Diaz. It's nice to meet you." he said in return. The two chatted more, finding out they had plenty in common, and before they knew it, it was time to take off.

Take off was smooth, and trouble free, as was most of the flight. Marco and Mia talked for hours about their homes and their karate achievements. After a few hours of chit chat Marco started to dose off. Mia was talking about her little brother when he fell asleep. She didn't bother to wake him up, and napped for a while as well. That helped time pass by, for when they woke up there was only three hours left of the flight. And those three hours passed easy with a movie and a new friend to talk to, before Marco knew it , they where ready to land. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are approaching Tokyo. The local time is 5:45 AM. We will be making our final descent into Haneda Airport in 25 minutes. Please put your tray tables and seats in the upright position and fasten your seatbelts." said the pilot over the loudspeaker. Marco exhaled in relief. "Thank god, I'm so ready to be off this plane." said Marco. "I know, my butt is sore from this chair." groaned Mia. Eventually they landed as the sun was rising, and it made for a beautiful view out the window. People began exiting the plane and soon enough Marco and Mia were off of the plane. They walked through the terminal and looked around at the hustle and bustle of the various businesses and eateries in the airport. They claimed their baggage together and found a bus driver holding a sign for contestants in the Tokyo Martial Arts Expo. Marco and Mia checked in and got on the bus, which was filled with other competitors from all over the world. Soon they were ready to depart and the man who was holding the sign addressed them all from the front of the vehicle. "Welcome Contestants, to beautiful Tokyo. Right now you are being escorted your hotel. Please take the next day to relax and recover from your flights- on Monday morning at 9, you will be taken to the Expo. That day will just be interviews for you all, and you will be given a run down of the tournament complex. The actual tournament will take place Tuesday through Friday, and the second half of the tournament will take place next week, also from Tuesday to Friday. Next Sunday morning, you will all be taken from the hotel by bus for your return flight back to Los Angeles, where you will take your connecting flights if necessary." said the Coordinator. The group followed the coordinator to a buss where they all got on board and traveled to their hotel. It was a fast trip and felt like nothing after the flight. They got their bags and made their way into the lobby. There they where assigned rooms all on the same floor, and handed their keys along with a folder filled with information about the trip including the schedules, buss and subway routs, and map of the area they where in. Marco got into his room just two doors down from Mia, and threw his bags on the floor. He plopped down onto the bed and let out a big sigh, happy to be not in any kind of motion.

He messaged Star to notify her of the safe landing, as it was around dinner time back home in California, and he knew Star would be awake. Rather than reply, Star called Marco on FaceTime, to which he immediately answered. "Marcooooo!" exclaimed Star, excited to see her boyfriend. "I already miss the heck outta you! You look beat from the flight, poor thing!" She said. "Heheh yeah. 'just glad to be in a bed holding still, but im alright, no need to worry. " He reassured her. "Soooo, whats Tokyo like?!" asked star holding the mirror of her phone closer as she tried to soak in every detail about the room. " It's pretty big, and really pretty, you would get lost here if you took three steps with your eyes closed it feels like, its actually kind of cool. Marco sat up and walked to the window, he flipped the camera setting and streamed the view from his window to Star. "Wooooow. I wish I was there with you.. " said Star as she took in the view. "I know, me too." said Marco, sighing. "Marco? I gotta tell you something..." began Star. She sounded concerned and Marco quickly got worried. "What is it?" He asked, putting the phone back on him. "I just have this weird gut feeling that I'm not gonna see you again... I think I just might be being ridiculous, but I have like this weird feeling something bad is about to happen. It's hard to explain. I know it sounds silly.." said Star, scoffing at herself. Marco chuckled. "Star, please, you have nothing to worry about- I'm a black belt, I can defend myself if things get dicey!" said Marco, karate chopping the air for affect. "You have nothing to worry about. I'm not going to fall in love with Tokyo and decide to never come home." He said, chuckling more. Star giggled at his words. "I know. I worry too much. You're my cute ninja warrior~" She said in a babyish voice. "Anyway, I'm gonna take a nap, I'm still pretty rumped from the plane. I love you, Star, we'll talk soon." said Marco. "I love you too Marco, sweet dreams! I'll tell your parents you said hi!" said Star, giving him a soft smile as they hung up. Marco flopped down on the hotel bed and took a solid nap.

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When he woke up, he explored the neighborhood a little bit with Mia, got some local food, went shopping, fun stuff. Mia was very fun to hang out with. She loved to make jokes about things she saw as she walked along- she seemed to have a punchline for everything, and a very can-do attitude. Her positive energy reminded him a lot of Star. Soon enough, the first part of the competition rolled by. Marco and Mia did very well, they were both consistently winning every match they were in. Eventually they knew they'd have to spar with each other, but that wouldn't be until the second half of the competition the following week. Meanwhile, back home, there were occasional viewing parties at the Diaz house for them to track Marco's progress. Furg, Alfonso, Janna, Oskar, Jackie, even Pony Head, Tom and Kelli came to viewing parties cheered Star up for sure and seeing Marco on TV was more than cool. Everyone would bring a snack, pot luck style, and some times they held little sleep overs, the boys would sleep in Marcos room and girl's in Stars. It helped a lot to be surrounded by friends. She felt less lonely, and it made time pass just a little bit easier, but that gut feeling just wouldn't leave. Every time Marco was on screen ready to battle, she worried if she was going to watch her boyfriend be paralyzed by a kick to hard to the neck, or see his eyes get gouged out by a fowl play. Thank god nothing of the sort ever came close to that. There were 2 sprains throughout the whole tournament, and one was cause because a kid just happened to step weird. There was one small scare when a slightly mal-intended kick connected with Marco's jaw, knocking him down for a good second, but all was well when he lept back up and bested his opponent. Everyone in the room collectively went "Ooooooh..." when they saw Marco get roundhouse kicked, as it looked like it hurt quite a bit. Luckily, Marco was fine. After every tournament Day was over Marco would FaceTime Star so he could talk to her and everyone else, and they'd say how awesome his matches were and stuff, and also comment on other competitors they thought were cool or hated. When the weekend came, Marco spent the majority of it hanging out with Mia, as the other competitors practically shunned them as they were slightly jealous at how well they were doing- but they also kept an eye on the two of them and watched their friendship- as it would be interesting to see how it would play out in the ring when they would eventually have to fight. The second week came and more matches went by, until it came down to the final battle. Of course, as everyone predicted, it came down to American West Coast vs. Brazil; aka, Marco vs. Mia.

The fight started with Mia advancing on Marco and over whelming him with many fast throws that he stepped and weaved away from, blocking what ever he couldn't dodge with his fore arms. One two three four, Marco counted her throws, she had to tire soon, this was no anime, and after her 5th punch she threw a kick, and jumped back to catch her breath. 'my turn' Thought Macro as he lunged forward giving Mia no time to breath. She did as Marco had done with her attacks, and managed to weave and block. The two kept at it, not one seemed better than the other, each grew tired at the same rate and each dodged and blocked all attacks besides a few hits here and there that slipped through. Their points where neck to neck, but Marco managed a take down at the last second as Mia let her guard down when she glanced at the clock, and won the tournament. Marco stood up and looked down at Mia, defeated. He then looked up and saw a massive crowd cheering at him. It was insanity, he had never felt so amazing in his life. He was awarded the first place medal and Mia won first runner up. After the ending ceremonies, they were taken back to their hotel to pack up for the flight home. When he was done, he decided to FaceTime Star. When she answered, Marco was greeted by Star's sleepy face, as it was roughly 10 in the morning back home, and Star was still in bed. "Good morning Star~" He said with a chuckle. "Morning Marco~" She said as she yawned and smiled. "My flight leaves tomorrow morning at 9. So I'll be home in like... I guess.. two days? I don't know. I forget how time zones work." chuckled Marco. "I can't wait." Star hummed happily as she stirred under the large comforter."I missy lil snug bug." She added, making macro blush and look up to see if anyone heard. They didn't, and if some one did, they didn't care."Well, I'm about to get on the plane. " He explained moving on with the conversation. "Hurry home." She hummed. "I will, I love you Star. I'll be there before you know it." "I love you to my little Ninja. " "Bye." "Bye." Click. Star lay in bed still just looking at her phone's screen displaying Marco's contact information. Something just wasn't settling right in the young princess's head.

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The next morning, Marco got on a shuttle that would take him back to the airport to catch his flight home. He smiled awkwardly at Mia as he sat down next to her on the bus. She definitely seemed upset that she lost, but was happy for Marco. "Hey," started Marco. "You were the greatest challenge I had in this entire tournament, I just want you to know that. You worked super hard these two weeks, and this medal is just as much yours as it is mine... we're still cool, right?" He asked. "Out of all these people, I'm glad it went to you." Mia smiled and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Of course we are cool, and here." Mia handed him a note, with her number and social media on it. "Keep in touch, I wanna kick your butt some day." She teased. Marco laughed and the two continued their friendship stronger than ever, with new found respect for one another. Being punched will do that to ya. Eventually, they got to airport and went through the motions once more. It was soon time to get on the return flight. Marco boarded the plane and sat next to Mia once again and before they knew it they where off once again.

It was another 18 hour flight, and Marco wasn't psyched. The flight attendant congratulated Marco during the pre-flight safety announcements. Apparently his victory was widely recognized. The flight was normal thus far and nothing was out of the ordinary. But then Marco began to notice slight vibrations in his seat and the floor. Was the plane vibrating? He thought as he looked out into the night sky. He thought he was just going stir crazy from being on the plane and dismissed it. All of the sudden there was allowed cracking noise and the plane began experiencing turbulence. It was surprising at first, but Marco had been on planes before, and he knew turbulence was normal and expected it to subside shortly. But it didn't. It got worse. It got more aggressive and the plane went into a nose dive. The lights went out. People were screaming. The plane was creaking as if it was about to tear in half. Marco and Mia clutched each other's hands. In the midst of the screaming and darkness and violent shaking of the cabin, Marco managed to grasp his phone and see his wallpaper of Star. If he was going out, he wanted her face to be the last thing he saw. He closed his eyes and prepared for the worst, but in an instant, everything was fine. The lights came back on, and the plane was stable. "S-Sorry about that folks," Started the captain over the loudspeaker, clearly shaken up. "That was just some, rather extreme turbulence, but rest assured everything is normal. We aren't exactly positive what happened as our radar showed no signs of turbulence or even anything storm-related. Engines and navigation are working normally, and we will be in LA within 9 hours." said the captain.

Everyone on board was wide awake now, and for a couple hours after the extreme incident the feeling across all the people on board was tense. It took a while for people's nerves to calm. Mia and Marco where silent for a while too as their hearts settled after such a scare. After about an hour though they started to talk like normal again and get on with their regular lives. They talked about their families they where happy to go home too. Mia learned about Star and was sweet and supportive of Marco, putting any ideas she had started to gather behind her, she just wanted him to be happy. The flight was nearing it's end and for the people in the cabin, no one had a clue something was going on. But up in the cockpit, the captain requesting to land was having a hard time getting permission from the towers. They kept asking weird ridiculous questions as if they had no idea who this pilot was or that this plane was even landing here.

"Attention passengers, we aren't out of the woods yet. We have been asked to land at Burbank Airport instead of LAX- it's only spitting distance from the city, but for anyone catching a connecting flight, we owe you one." said the captain, making everyone on the plane groan. "Ugh, perfect. Getting home is going to be a fucking pain!" groaned Mia. "Don't worry, maybe you can stay with my family until you get your travel arrangements sorted out." Said marco, earning a thanks from Mia. When they finally landed, marco switched his phone off airplane mode, only to find he had no service and none of his social media apps would load. He looked around and noticed everyone was having the same problem. "Something isn't right here.." said Marco, quickly growing concerned. "Ladies and gentlemen, as if the inconveniences weren't enough, we've been asked to de-plane on the tarmac." said the captain, which earned a confused shrug from everyone on the plane. As people got off, they were greeted with EMTs, police, and tons of press. Marco found this to be extremely confusing. What was all this? And why did all the ambulances and police cars look so.. new? Even futuristic, rather? "What the hell is going on here?" Asked the pilot as the chief detective approached the crowd of people.

The chief detective stepped up and motioned his hands to silence the constant murmuring over the crowd of people. Bright bright lights flashed as cameras clicked rapidly. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Chief Detective Denzel Weiss with the Burbank Police Department. We are all glad to see you here today, many families will be overjoyed to tears. It is apparent none of you are aware of what has happened, in fact I guarantee the top scientists of the world will be just as unaware what has happened as well." he started. Marco didn't like the sound of this. What had happened? Why were families going to be overjoyed? It was just a normal flight! Marco was hanging on what the Detective had to say next.

"Flight 182 departed from Tokyo's Haneda International Airport on Sunday, August 17 2018, en route to Los Angeles. Today's date is October 12 2028. You have all been missing, presumed dead, for 10 years."

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 **HOOOOOOOOOO WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE long chapter! and a cliff hanger! wowzers! hooked yet? yes? no? maybe so? leave a review let us know what ya think!**

 **btw: theres a lot of fucking sadness/conflict coming so buckle the fuck up and put on your fave lofi radio bc its real sadboi hours over here lmao**


	3. Earth To Marco!

**so everything from this chapter going forward is gonna be a trigger warning for anyone with depression/dissociative disorder. so yeah. be warned. real shit**

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"Flight 182 departed from Tokyo's Haneda International Airport on Sunday, August 17 2018, en route to Los Angeles. Today's date is October 12 2028. You have all been missing, presumed dead, for 10 years. Today we welcome you back home with open arms, your families are being contacted and will be here for your arrival soon. For those who have no more family to contact, we are offering free council by courtesy of the airport. We hope to see you all adapt in a healthy timely manner to, well, the future. " Marco, Mia, the pilot, everyone, seemed to still not fully understand what was going on. "10 years?" Mia asked looking over a Marco, "This has got to be a joke. It was a long flight but I think I would've noticed if I was on a plane for 10 years." Mia looked worried. She tapped at her phone who would only alert her that he OS was severely out of date and needed updates.

Marco couldn't comprehend what had happened. 2028? It had been 10 years? Marco didn't know what to think. He was handed his luggage and was escorted into the terminal with everyone else where he was examined by medical professionals and questioned by police for the longest 2 hours of his life. Mia was put on a plane to DC so she could go to the Brazilian Embassy to contact her family. Finally he was cleared to go to the main entrance of the airport, where many families crowded around looking for their loved ones. "Mom? Dad? Star?" He walked around, not knowing what to look for. Would he even recognize his family anymore after they had all aged? He felt himself about to dissolve into a panic attack when he heard a familiar voice yell out. "MIJO!" yelled the voice of Rafael. Marco turned around and saw his aged father with salt and pepper hair, and even slightly out of shape. With him was a young boy who couldn't be older than 9 or 10- he bore a striking resemblance to his mother, who oddly wasn't present. Star was nowhere to be found as well.

Despite being old and out of shape the large man was able to pick a decent pace and run towards Marco. "OH MIJO MIJO MIJO!" he exclaimed pushing through the crowd and picking the young boy up off his feet and hugging him tight. "I can't tell you how worried I've been. I can't tell you how many nights I dreamt to have you in my arms again. Ohh mijo I've missed you so much." The man was practically in tears. His son by his side, Marco Junior, watched with little motion compared to his father. He definitely was feeling something, as you could see in his eyes many thoughts scrambled. But the boy remained mostly still in just watched soaking in the fact that his older brother is actually here before him and alive. "D-Dad? Where's Mom? And Star? I have no idea what the hell is going on..." said Marco, grabbing his hair. Rafael frowned. Actually, frowned is an understatement. The mere question made Rafael shudder. "Aye, Mijo, we have much to talk about... the years haven't quite been, well, bueno to our family. But, there is someone for you to meet. This is your little brother Mijo, this is Marco Jr." Said Raf, motioning to the young boy. "MJ." He said meekly, still in shock that his brother was here before his eyes. Up until now he was simply a character in his Dad's bedtime stories, but now he was here. "I go by MJ." He reasserted.

"MJ..." Marco echoed. He looked over the boy. She had a strong resemblance to himself. He has a mole in the exact same place and hair color that matched. But this boy had brighter eyes, like his mother. And his style was a little bit punky, which wasn't what Marco would expect from his little brother, but what would he expect from someone he is never met. "MJ..." He started. "Wow.. uh heh. This, this is crazy. I'm glad to meet you, finally. never what I thought it would be under these conditions but I'm happy it happened now and not ever. " MJ nodded, he could agree with that at least. The two gave each other an awkward hug and Raphael stepped back up and spoke. "Let's get home. We have so much to talk about."

* * *

The car ride home was mind boggling. Half the cars on the road were literally hovering. Modern architecture was widespread and apparent. Smartphones were now completely glass and holographic. They rode in almost complete silence, aside from MJ asking Dad for the aux cord to play some of his music, which was very reminiscent of the pop rock from the early 2010s. Finally they got home- only it wasn't Home- it was a condo. They weren't even in their old neighborhood, this one looked rather sketchy. Not totally rundown, like a ghetto, but still... it didn't look like the safest neighborhood in the world. "Dad..? What is this place? What happened to the house?" asked Marco. "I will explain everything at dinner, Mijo. You're going to.. You're going to want to be eating a comforting meal when you hear about it all." said Rafael, with a somber voice. MJ looked away awkwardly as well, nervous about how is older brother would take everything. Raphael disappeared into the kitchen leaving Marco and MJ alone in the living room together. The two brothers sat down, and the silence was more than akward. How do you talk to your brother who has grown up without you? "Hay, um MJ, have any social media you'd want to add me on?" Asked Marco trying to find common ground. "Oh, yeah, would you like to add me on Dingo?" offered MJ. "Dingo?" Marco echoed confused. "Oh, right. It's this app, see you can log on and do things like this." Marco leaned over and watching MJ poke and swipe over all the newest trends. They shipped through dingo, and even made an account for Marco, along with other new forms of social media. It wasn't long till dinner was ready.

Marco tried to download the app on his phone, before remembering the time jump disabled his phone. "Maybe I should get a new phone.." He said, sighing. "Ok, kids! Time for dinner! Oh how I've missed saying that!" said Raf, starting to get emotional again. He prepared three plates of arroz con pollo and sat everybody down. After a few minutes of silence, Marco spoke up. "So... what's the deal? Where's Mom? Did you guys.. did you guys get a divorce..?" asked Marco. "Aye.. Mijo, a divorce would have been preferable... you see, when your little brother was only 4, your mother got very ill.." started Rafael. "Dad.. what are you saying..?" Said Marco, bracing for the worst. " Your mamá loved you very much... Sweet Angie passed away about 6 years ago... Ever since it's been just us boys." Raf kept it short and sweet for now. He didn't need to tell the sob story about his depression and financial struggles. That can be saved for later, right now he was happy to have Marco, and having to tell him that his mother is no longer around was enough for one night. Marco sat there. Tears rolled down his cheeks without him ever noticing till a drop landed on his hand and he felt the moisture. He rubbed his thumb over the drop on his hand and swallowed the knot in his throat that had been forming without his awareness. "Okay..." Was all he could manage to say, the shock of the situation still sinking in as the tears kept dripping from his face. " Okay..." he said again, trailing off.

Marco put his face in his hands and wept for a moment. He needed his mother's embrace now more than ever, and now he'd never get to hug her again. His weeps became heavy sobs. What had happened to the world he once knew? It had only felt like two weeks ago he had just seen his mother... because in his mind, he ha! All he could do was compose himself and sit up as MJ awkwardly ate his food. He took a deep breath and thought about his next question, and whether or not he wanted the answer. "And what about Star..?" asked Marco. "Star took your death- eh, well, disappearance harder than any of us. She spent four years going back and forth from here to Mewni. She was convinced there was some kind of magic related reason for your disappearance and literally went mad looking for answers. After a certain point she wasn't even Star anymore.. until eventually she had a mental breakdown and went back to Mewni permanently. We haven't heard from her since." said Raf. "I miss her." said MJ, interjecting before Marco could react. "She was the only babysitter I ever had that was fun... well, besides Ms. Jackie..." He said trailing off.

Marco sat there taking in all the information once more. It comforted him knowing Star took an interest in MJ, but Jackie? He wasn't sure how Jackie fit into all this quite yet, but that wasn't important to him right now. "I have to tell her I'm back." Marco stated as he thought of the pain she went through all these years. MJ and Raf exchanged worried looks. "You're not going back to Mewni... are you?" Asked Raf, sick thinking about his son leaving already. Marco stood up. " I have to! She's my girlfriend, I love her! I told her I would come back fine, She has to know I didn't lie!" Marco exclaimed. "My room... where is the box you packed my room into?" Asked Marco urgently. "It's in the attic... " Marco ran and pulled down the ladder. He climbed up and turned on the light, and started to go box to box till he found one with his name on it. He ripped it open and dug, throwing things this way and that. Raf followed him up, but had to duck as a sword was tossed aside almost hitting him between the eyes. " Ah ha!" Marco held up a pair of scissors above his head. "Wait, Mijo!" said Raf as he followed Marco into their small attic. "What?" said Marco, tears coming down his cheeks. "Please, hold off on finding Star for a little while... we haven't seen you in 10 years, your old friends haven't even gotten to see you yet!" said Raf, not wanting to see his son leave again. "Dad, Star has to know I'm alive!" He exclaimed. "I know Mijo, and in time she will, but realize that if you go to Mewni, you might find something you don't want to find. Star has been living her own life now for years, who knows what her situation is now!" Said Rafael. Marco stood silent as looked at his dimensional scissors. "Look, Marco, just please try to readjust and settle in a little first before you go off on another adventure. That's all I'm asking." said Rafael. Marco stood there... he could feel the great amount of emotion in his fathers eyes. he lowered the scissors and sighed. He turned his back and started to dig in the box again. there he pulled out a note book and a pen. He wrote something down, and ripped the page out of the spiral and cut open a small portal into Star's room on Mewni. Raf held his breath, not sure if his son was about to leave despite his pleas. Marco took off his red hoodie, put the note in it's pocket, and tossed it through the portal before shutting it. He took a deep breath then turned back to his father, he pocketed the scissors and walked back to the ladder. "She should get that whenever she gets back from, well, wherever she is... heh..." In Marco's head that should be in a few hours after she gets back from sparing with Kelly or dancing with pony head. What ever she was up to, she would come home to sleep, and find a bright red hoodie on her floor with a note... but this was no longer Star's room. This was the princess' bedroom, and she no longer retired to that bed at the end of her days. So the hoodie would be left till Sir Lavabo found his way to it.

* * *

Marco went downstairs and they finished their dinner. After helping Dad with the dishes, Raf decided to go to bed early, and Marco was left to look after MJ. He took the opportunity to bond with his little brother and the two played video games. After several rounds of some first person shooter that MJ liked and sharing some laughs, the younger Diaz turned to his brother. "So all that stuff about Ms. Star being a magical princess and everything?" He asked. Marco chuckled as the question took him by surprised. "Pfft, of course. The amount of times she's had to save my ass- erm, butt would surprise you." said Marco. MJ's face lit up. "So all those stories about your adventures are true? You really fought that lizard guy? And you spent 16 years in an alternate dimension and it wound up only being 8 minutes on Earth?!" He asked, super shocked. "Yeah. That reminds me, I should pay a visit to Hekapoo at some point.." he said as he pulled out his dimensional scissors. "She gave me these yknow?" He said. "She gave you fancy scissors..?" asked MJ. "Not just any scissors- these let you travel anywhere in the universe." He said as he opened a portal to lava lake beach. "Go on, stick your head in there and look around." said Marco as MJ stuck his head through the portal. "Whoaaa.." Said the young boy, amazed by the whole new world on the other side of the portal. Marco pulled him back in and closed the portal. "Maybe sometime I'll take you dimension hopping." said Marco. "That would be awesome!" said MJ as Marco looked at the time. "It's getting late, I'm sure you have school tomorrow. Why don't you go get ready for bed?" asked Marco. MJ reluctantly agreed and did as he was told, and then Marco tucked his younger brother into bed before going to sleep himself on the couch. At around noon the next day, Marco awoke to the sound of loud banging at his door. He got up and groaned as he answered the door to find a group of adults. His eyes adjusted and soon recognized them to Furg, Alfonso, Oskar, Janna, and Jackie- all grown up!

Janna, being most like star in the group, pushed her way in front and swooped Marco off his feet in a tight hug. "Oh Marco! How I've missed the! I feared I would never be able to return your SS!" she handed him his social. "Here you are champ." Marco was still confused as ever as most of the others where as well. "You haven't aged a day man, this is crazy!" Janna went on. "Look at him!" She held him out for all to see lion king style. Jackie stepped up next and put a hand on Janna's shoulder. " I know you get jokey when under pressure, but maybe you should just set Marco down and talk this one out. " He offered gently. Marco was frozen and blushing a bit as he held is social awkwardly suspended above ground. "Oh, yeah ooof, your right." Janna laughed and set down the kid. " Well... welcome back man..."

"Wow... you guys are so much... taller than me.." He said looking around at his friends. "Dude, how have you not aged at all?" asked Oskar. "I don't know! I got on the plane, there was some terrifying turbulence for like 10 seconds, and then we landed. It felt like a regular flight!" He said, starting to ramble. "You poor thing, you must be so overwhelmed..." said Jackie, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Does Star know you're alive?" asked Alfonso. "Yeah, she flipped out and left Earth like, 6 years ago!" said Furgason, earning an elbow from Janna signaling him to shut up. "I was gonna go find her.. but Dad advised me to take it easy. I opened a portal to her room and left her a note with my hoodie. I'm sure she'll get it at some point.. " he said, trailing off. He missed Star dearly. He wanted his girlfriend. Everyone could see it on his face. "So what have you guys been up to for like, 10 years?" asked Marco, wanting to change the subject. "Oskar and I are in a band. I play drums and he plays keyboards. We played Coachella last year!" said Janna. "Furg and I own a comic book shop! You gotta come hang and check it out!" said Alf. "And I own a surf shop near the beach. If you want a job, let me know okay?" said Jackie in a sweet voice. It was a lot to take in. This whole time his friends had been out there, making their own lives, successful lives. Everyone's job seemed to match well with their personality, Marco felt like he was looking through future vision goggle, but no. this was the present, and this was real life. Marco looked at Jackie after the offer. " I-I'll keep that in mind, thanks..." He managed to stutter out. He couldn't stop looking at everyone, it was weird, his friends had mom and dad bodies now, and it was tripping him out. what did star look like now if this what what Earth's timeline did to his friends.

Marco seemed to get stuck in the moment. It didn't feel like real life. "Mijo! And Mijo's friends! So glad you stopped by!" said Rafael as he came out of his bedroom and snapped Marco out of his trance. "Hey Mr. Diaz!" they said. "It's noon, you're not at the middle school!" said Jackie. "Si, I had a sub stand in for me so I could make my doctor's appointment." explained Rafael. "Wait, Middle School? What happened to your art professor job at the University?" asked Marco. Rafael scratched the back of his head nervously. "There were some... complications after your mother passed... well, the middle school was the only place I could find work. It doesn't pay as well so that's why we downsized to the condo.." He explained, not wanting to go too deep into the depression and darkness and other details that surrounded that time. "Also Mijo, at some point we must take you clothes shopping! We donated your clothes because, well.. we thought you were dead." said Rafael, with a nervous chuckle. Marco rolled his eyes, but he understood. "I can take him shopping Rafael! You work too hard and do to much." said Jackie.

"Oh no no no, I can't allow you to do that, you already have helped us so much." Raf said waving his hands in front of him, polity declining the offer. " Well, don't be afraid to ask for more help." She reassured, putting a hand on Marco's shoulder. " You have two teens on your hands now, i know you'll need it." she gave a happy little giggle. "You are a blessing niñita, gracias" Raf gave in and thanked Jackie more for her helping hand. It was weird to see Jackie converse as if she had always been a part of family business. It made Marco a little uncomfortable in a weird way but he had no time to think about that. "Um, dad, if its cool. I want to go out with my friends... talk some. Can I go with Jackie?" He asked. Raf, who was seemingly having a hard time letting Marco go again hesitated. " I-I don't know... Maybe you should stay here for a while, just to be s-" Jackie put a hand on Raf's shoulder and looked into his eyes, she gave him a solid nod, and she stropped his rambling. " Be back by six..." He said, giving way to his son's request. "Thanks Dad.." He said with a smile. With that, he and the group exited the condo and walked down the hall. "Soo, what should we do, guys?" asked Marco as they got in the elevator. "Actually, Alf and I have to get back to the shop.. it's a work day, yknow? We make most of our money during the after school comic book rush." said Furg. "Yeah, Janna and I have to go to a record signing. But we should do something this weekend!" Said Oskar, to which Furg, Alf and Janna agreed. "Oh..." said Marco as they exited the elevator. They all said their goodbyes and went on about their day. "So.. just you and me, huh?" He said awkwardly to Jackie as they walked to her car and got in. "Yup. I know your Dad declined, but we're still getting you those clothes. Your dad is too nice to take help sometimes." she said with a chuckle as she started the car.

Marco sat in the car and buckled up like usual, the whole time, Jackie watched from the corner of her eyes. Not because she was eyeing his figure or shy, just slightly off put he was still the same kid from ten years ago. Marco of course noticed. "Heheh...yeah... Weird isn't it?" He broke the silence. "Oh no. No. I'm sorry, it's it's crazy though. " She shrugged it off and put the car in reverse. "Just so much has happened, and for you, you haven't missed a day..." She thought over the situation as she backed out. "Ten years I thought you where dead man... Maybe we should go get you a zombie outfit or a mummy." She snickered as he put the car into drive and took off down the road. "I think I'm good on those, heh, so what is fashion like today anyways? " Marco asked. "Oh, it hasn't changed too much. Everyone enjoys the comfort of t-shirts with their favorite logos, bands, brands, and characters on them with a pair of shorts or comfy pants as casual wear. Dresses seem to be more frilly than tight and sleek, Star would of liked some of the summer time ones that came out around the same time that stupid unicorn app became popular with kids. " She hesitated a bit after bringing up her passengers missing girlfriend...ex? Marco wanted to physically flinch at the name but he seemed a bit numb to surprises now that he had done his time crying over her and Angie. "I'd like to see them... Sounds fun." He said a bit distant. Not that he wanted to wear a dress, he had his own he liked very much, he just wanted to look, and imagine Stars happy up beat reaction to each design. It was a sweet thought that warmed him up just a little. Some times it felt good just to remember the good things, before having to face the truth head on. Would star even be the same though? What if she never got excited about simple pleasures again? The sweet got bitter. "Hey." Jackie snapped him back into reality. " It'll be okay." She offered a hand on his shoulder. Marco got embarrassed, after all these years, Jackie could still read him like a book. "Yeah..." Marco sighed and looked out the window as they passed through the neighborhood.

"It's just all been... so much. I got on that plane, it only felt like a day ago, and I had one an international karate tournament, I had a baby brother on the way, I had an amazing girlfriend who loved me more than anything... and now..." said Marco, trailing off. "I don't know what I have." he finished. "Hey dude, I'm here for you. I got your back." said Jackie smiling. Marco smiled back at her, but now he had a question. "Speaking of that... how are you and my dad so... close? It's a little... unsettling. At first anyway." said Marco, being rather honest. "Your didn't give you the full scoop, huh?" said Jackie. "Apparently not..." said Marco, feeling that same pinch of anxiety.

"Well, you shouldn't be hearing this from me but, when your mom passed, things were rough. Star had snapped and disappeared back to Mewni literally 2 months beforehand. Rafael and MJ were really upset to see her go like that. Your mom was in the hospital at the time and she didn't even get to say goodbye to her. I was out of high school and decided to enter the work force instead of going off to college, so I decided to stop by every now and again to check up on them. When Angie finally passed away, it took a massive toll on your Dad. At first it was just the typical sadness you expect... but then came the depression, the alcohol, the not showing up to work..." said Jackie. Marco was shocked to hear all of this. "I began checking in on him more frequently, almost daily. Babysitting MJ. Picking up dry cleaning. Whatever I could to help. Then your Dad got laid off, and money got really tight. I started buying food for MJ, toilet paper, bottled water, toys... for your brother of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't spoil him, heh. But the family savings were going fast between the bills and taxes, not to mention Angie's hospital expenses. So I suggested he sell the house and downsize to somewhere cheaper. I even hooked him up with my Aunt who got him a job at the middle school as an art teacher. And here we are..." said Jackie.

There Marco sat playing the reel of information in his head like a movie. He has seen his father drunk before, but never depressed and drunk. It was scary to think about. His father was so up eat and happy that to see that image in Marco's head made the boy cover his mouth to choke back tears. The wound was still fresh and bleeding, simply bringing up these matters felt like a full body massage of salty cuts. It physically effected Marco in ways he never knew imaginable. He was sick to his stomach, the knot tied was enough to make his head spin, on top of the headache his chest felt immense pressure and simply shifting his weight made his heart feel like it would drop out of place. There wasn't much he could do but catch his breath and recompose himself physically and mentally. Of course Jackie saw it all, and could read the wave of emotions that road over the boy. "I'm sorry for everything that happened. but on the bright side it looks like things are finally turning around for your dad and MJ. Raphael actually looks like he has a bit of Life put back into him now that you are back," said Jackie with a smirk.

Marco heard what Jackie had said and tried to respond, but he couldn't. He could feel himself zoning out. It was that similar feeling from before when he had answered the door and Jackie had been there with all his other friends. He felt hollow, like he wasn't in his own body. He felt ill but felt nothing at the same time. He felt like he was hearing some kind of echo in the back of his head. What on earth was that? It sounded like a muffled shout, but he couldn't make it out. "Marco... Marco! ... MARCO!" exclaimed Jackie, snapping Marco back into reality. "Huh!? What?" said Marco. "Are you good, dude? You zoned out for a good few minutes there..." said Jackie as she pulled into a parking space at the mall. "Yeah, I just.. I just miss my mom. And Star. It's hard to focus right now." he said, composing himself. "Poor thing.." said Jackie as she put a comforting hand on Marco's shoulder and then caressed his cheek. "Come on, let's go shopping. Take your mind off all that for now!" said Jackie as she got out of the car. They went into the mall, and Marco was amazed at how futuristic everything looked.

As they walked into the mall the first thing noticable was the fact that posters didn't seem to exist anymore. Everything had been replaced by monitors screens and projection. Children still Road on those motor animal things, but instead of just being a stiff plush the animals had animatronics in the face, they bleeped and barked and looked at things that they passed I a manner that was almost uncanny valley to think they were just toys out for rental. In 2018 many people had their phones everywhere they went, but they now they were hardly present in people's hands. Smart watches and glasses had taken over there were even a few people who had their phone screen projected out in front of them in an almost holographic state. The two walked into a store and started to shop, walking rack to rack Marco seemed to touch the fabric but not really comprehend much more then the texture. he knew he was at the mall, and he knew he was there to shop for clothes, but his mind was Far elsewhere. Jackie was sweet and encouraging like usual but she could see that Marco wasn't doing anything but just feeling his surroundings and staring. Feeling bad for him she decided to go ahead and make some decisions for him just for the time being. While Marco had a hand on a jacket rubbing his thumb on the sleeve staring out the department window out to the mall Halls that were heavily populated, Jackie picked out a pair of shorts pair of pants and a few shirts with one nice Polo for him to wear till he was ready to shop for himself. Marco hadn't even realized that he had answered her questions about what size clothes he wears, the answers fell out like reflex and his mind didn't focus on that content. Instead it ran with multiple thoughts of nothingness.

As Marco's mind was elsewhere, he didn't notice it when a middle aged woman bumped into him, making the lady drop the clothes she was holding. "Augh! Watch where you're going, kid!" said the lady, as she picked up her clothes. "Huh?" said Marco, trying to process what happened. "Earth to space cadet! Anyone home? Look where you're walking!" she exclaimed, rather rudely, Jackie rushed over to diffuse the situation. "What happened? You okay, Marco?" she asked. Before Marco could answer, the lady chimed in once more. "Your son just decided it would be nice to just absentmindedly walk directly into me as I was holding a bunch of clothes!" she exclaimed, starting to cause a scene. "He's uh, he's not my kid." she said, rather awkwardly. The lady gave her a once over. "Huh. Coulda fooled me. Either way you should probably make him lay off all the weed! Something is clearly turning his brain to mush." she said as she stormed off. "What just happened?" asked Marco, finally processing everything. "Apparently I look old enough to be your Mom." said Jackie as she glared in the lady's direction. "Are you okay?" she asked once more. "Yeah. I mean, I think. I don't know. I feel very... I don't know... not here?" he said, trying to find the words. "What do you mean?" she asked. Marco paused for a moment to think. "I feel like I'm in one of those dreams where I understand what's going on but I'm not processing it, and I have no control. Maybe I just need to like, go home and lay down..." he said. Jackie sighed. None of that sounded good. Hopefully this behavior would subside over time. The kid must have felt so out of place in the future. He couldn't even go to sleep in his childhood bed- he had to sleep on the couch because there was no other space for him.

"Tell ya what, I picked out some clothes I think you'll look very handsome in. Why don't we get out of here and grabbed some ice cream?" she suggested. Marco's face lit up. This may have been the future and his life as he knew it was over, but there was still good ole ice cream!

"Yeah. Yeah that sounds good."

* * *

 **Jarco friendship bonding anyone?** **¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ idk. one of the subplots/themes of this story is that Jackie takes this guidance-oriented, almost parental role over marco. we decided to go with this because jackie always gave great advice to marco in the show, like in their breakup scene. she's a smart girl and she always wanted what was best for marco, because she knew he wants all the best for her as well.**

 **but** **for those of you who dont give a shit about any of that and are ITCHING for that star and marco reunion,, sit tight, it's comingggggggg i promise**

 **also sorry for this chapter being a frickin dissertation lmao im hoping the future chapters don't end out as long... i mean, unless yall are cool with that. do you guys prefer longer chapters or quicker ones? lemme know in the reviews.**

 **(pro tip music buffs: this story pairs rlly well with the song "dissociation" by the dillinger escape plan, go spin it)**


	4. Salt In The Wounds

**buckle up lol this one's gonna go down like vinegar**

The two made it out of the mall, and with hindsight Jackie saw how it could have been overstimulating for someone who just came out of a situation that Marco had. now it was time to surround him with things that were familiar things that made him feel and place and at home. Ice cream was a great ice-breaker for this. They made it to a shop and headed inside for their sweet treats. Inside was more of the same like the mall, there were no posters instead screens danced along the walls with their advertisements and deals. There were not that many people inside especially in comparison to the mall so it was a little less stimulating which helped Marco not feel so out of place. However the lack of a cashier made things a little odd as the whole place was run by a single manager and a staff of machines that could scoop ice cream and two perfect bulbs of sweetness. Jackie asked for Marco's order before approaching the line, there she placed the order on a screen and paid for it with her card, the arms got to work and build the tall cones topping off with candies and cookies. Jackie walks down to the pickup and was handed the treats by cold metal claws. She turned and handed Marco his cone what she took happily, well happier than before. "Thank you" he said simply before licking it. They found their way to a table and Marco just licked at his cone, for the most part spaced out, but every now again the ice would melt and drop down on his hand snapping him back. The treat calmed him a lot. Chocolate ice cream was the cure-all for everything, even being trapped in some dystopian future nightmare hellscape. Marco even felt himself slowly snapping back into reality. "This place is pretty cool... robots that serve you ice cream. Who woulda thought.." he said, finally making small talk. "Yeah, places like these have been popping up everywhere since 2021. There's a ramen house down the street that offers fully automated service, the only people who work there are the chefs who prep the ingredients and make the noodles and broth." said Jackie. "Neat!" said Marco, cracking a smile. "I can't believe that lady back there thought you were my mom..." he said, with a chuckle. "I know! I don't think I look that old, do I?" she giggled. "She probably thought you were because of how young I look. I have a baby face. I could easily pass for 12, maybe even 10 after a haircut and a fresh shave." said Marco, rubbing his stubble. Jackie laughed at his comment, and then there was a brief silence as neither of them knew exactly what to say. "Sooo... surf shop and no college huh? Whatever happened the history buff you were back when we dated?" asked Marco.

"Life is a weird stage set up, man... You think you know what you want to do then life just goes and proves you wrong." She giggled leaning back into her chair some. "It started with me just renting out my boards to friends. Ya know, pay me five bucks and I'll let ya use my expensive equipment sort of deal. And it just sort of grew, I ended up buying boards just to keep up, soon I couldn't just do it out of my car and computer so I opened up a shop. It all kind of happened fast, I'm lucky it worked out. " Jackie explained rather loosely. "I enjoy my job, it's definitely been an experience. N' hay... I'll take you out surfing with my top notch gear some time." she said in a cheery voice. "That sounds nice.." Marco said with a smile. He loved the beach, he remembered all the fun days he spent splashing around in the water with Star. He wondered if he'd ever get to experience that again. "And I'm serious about the job offer. I could use the extra set of hands around the place, especially if those hands belongs to someone I can trust." said Jackie. Truthfully, she didn't need a tremendous amount of help around her shop, she really just felt this instinctual need to keep an eye on Marco. Plus she knew that keeping him busy would keep his mind off of other things. She didn't know how things would go when he finally caught up with Star again, but she wasn't counting on things going extremely well. "I'll have to think about it... I need to figure out what I'm gonna do in terms of school, but I'll let you know." said Marco, finishing up his frozen treat.

Not to long after Marco, Jackie finished her treat as well. Once Marco saw she had finished he shifted in his seat a bit. "Hey, um. If it's cool... I want to go find Star." He spoke up. Jackie hesitated a moment. "Like right now?" "Um, yeah." He started. "See, I don't think my dad will let me go any time soon and I don't exactly want to stress him out anymore than he is. I need to see star, and if I can go while my dad thinks I'm here on Earth with you, he won't ever worry." Jackie was rather caught off guard. "I.. uh.. I mean.. if you think you're prepared for that, then.. I guess we gotta go find Star" she said with a smile. "But we have to be back in 4 hours, or your Dad will kill me. Think we can swing that?" Jackie asked. Marco pulled out his dimensional scissors from his back pocket. "I don't think it'll be a problem at all." said Marco, smiling back. "But we need to find a secluded place to open the portal, I'm not trying to go dimension hopping in a public establishment." said Marco, gesturing to the other ice cream shop patrons. "Alright, come on. We will head to my shop." She nodded and offered a smile. Marco's face started to light up. The thought of seeing Star made him motivated and he stood up ready to go. Marco and Jackie headed to the car and got in. Before she started the car she opened the glove box and searched around. "I know it's here some where. Ah!" She pulled out an AUX cable. And plugged it into her car. "Man I haven't used this in a while. Here dude, plug in your jams. " She handed him the other end and started her car. The car ride had to be the best mood Jackie's seen Marco in this whole trip. He played some songs that Jackie would say where blasts from the past. They got to the shop and Jackie parked In the back. It was closed for the day. She got out of the car and unlocked the back door with her keys. Marco of course followed in. She closed the door behind him, and locked it before turning in on the lights. "Welcome to my shop man. Just tell me if you see anything you like." She treated with a shrug. "Whoa, this is so cool. " Marco complimented the shop. It has white walls with aqua trim. The walls where decorated with surf boards of all price ranges, the floor was covered with shelves and racks of equipment like flippers or swimsuits. It even had a little gift shop shelf. Marco looked around, but he did it quickly. He was ready to hurry up and go find Star. He returned back to Jackie's side and pulled out his scissors once more. "I love this place, and I would love to look around more later, but where can we cut this portal?" asked Marco. "It's my shop. Open it anywhere." chuckled Jackie. Marco shrugged and took the scissors Hekapoo had given him so long ago and tore open a portal. They stepped in quietly to find only an empty bedroom. "Where are we?" asked Jackie, her eyes adjusting to the darkness. It was the dead of night on Mewni and everything was quiet. "Star's room. Or, at least, I thought so. She's not here.." said Marco as he sat on the still-made bed. He looked around the room. He hadn't been here in so long. Well, to him it hadn't felt that long ago, but it reality it had been a decade. He looked by where Jackie was standing and found the hoodie and note he had left, still on the floor. "Hmm. She never got my note. I guess she sleeps somewhere else now..?" deduced Marco. "Then I guess we're going on a princess hunt." said Jackie.

* * *

Star sat up in bed with a groan. She didn't like getting up when she was comfy, but nature was calling. She exited the big bed she shared with her demon fiance and started down the hallway to the bathroom. She hadn't been sleeping that good anyway- Tom's snoring had been getting out of hand for a few weeks now. She'd be lying if she wasn't tempted to smother him with the pillow every once in a while. She was almost to the bathroom when she could have sworn she heard a door creek in the direction of her old bedroom. This was odd seeing as there are no other offices or bedrooms in that part of the castle.

* * *

"Okay dude so seriously, let me talk to Star first. " Jackie said grabbing Marco's shoulder before he could run off. " She may need to be warned about this ... She took your loss more personal than anyone. It's been ten year. Just let me get this started " Jackie whispered. Star, down the hall, could hear the sounds of hushed conversation, but she still couldn't make out who or what was there. "Hello?" She asked. Her voice sent shivers down both Marco's and Jackie's spines. "just stay." Jackie ordered before Marco could speak up in protest and slipped out of the room to meet Star in the hall way.

"Star! Buddy! Long time no see!" said Jackie, popping out of the room. "H-wha? Jackie? How did you get here? Not that I'm not happy to see you, you look great! Love what you're doing with your hair!" said Star, confused yet pleasantly surprised. "Oh, this? Yeah I figured I try out a new style a couple years back, you know how it is. You look great too!" She said, returning the compliment. Marco listened to their conversation, relieved to hear Star's voice. She hadn't changed at all! "Oh this? These are just my pajamas!" giggled Star. "But yeah, seriously, how are you here and why?" said, flipping her tone of voice. Jackie scratched the back of her head nervously. "Okay, so, Before I tell you, promise to not freak out?" She asked. "Uh, okay?" replied Star. "...It's about Marco." With that, Star fell silent. The color draining from her face at the mere mention of her long-lost lover's name. "I-I don't know what you could possibly have to say about him... he's been gone for years." She stammered out. Jackie pondered her word choice for a moment. "Uhhhhh.. well... see, the thing about that... there's been a, uh.." "STAR!" exclaimed Marco excitedly as he burst out of the room with arms stretched out for a hug. He stood in front of her with a big smile on his face while Star froze stuff, her hair raising on her skin. He ran into her and wrapped his arms tight around her. She was significantly taller, and she didn't feel like stars body he was use to, this was fully matured and felt more like his mother. But he didn't care he just held on while star stood there with an expression of utter fear. "Dude!" Jackie ran up and put a hand on Marco's shoulder prompting him to look up as see Star's face of horror and watering eyes threatening to let tear drops fall. "No, not again.." Star's voice was weak and shook. "I thought I was done seeing these things... Why now?" she said to herself, thinking she was stuck in another Marco related lucid nightmare.

"Wait, seeing things?" asked Marco. "Star, no, it's actually me! I'm alive! I can explain everything!" Said Marco, letting go of the the woman. Star fell silent and looked at him, terrified, and then back at Jackie. "He's as real as me, Star. I promise this isn't some hallucination." said Jackie. Star rubbed her temples for a moment. "Come with me. We should.. we should all sit down. I need a drink." She said, with a monotone voice. She led them down the hallway and into a room. It was simple and plain, but there was a stocked minibar and a table with chair. Star poured herself a glass of Mewman wine. "Sit." She instructed the two friends. "And convince me why I'm not losing my marbles again." She said, hand trembling. Marco scratched the back of his head and spoke up. "I got on the plane... it felt like just a normal flight. But then there was this awful turbulence. Rattled the plain enough to make you think we were going to split in half. It came out of nowhere. But It was only a few seconds! Then we landed and suddenly it's 10 years later... and my brother is in the 4th grade and has no idea who I am... and my house is gone.. and my mom is dead..." said Marco, trailing off, reminding him of how shitty the nature of his situation truly is. "And I miss you. And I need you, now more than I've ever needed anything..." He finished, his tone changing to that of something profoundly somber. Before Star could muster an answer for Marco, Jackie interjected. "Y'know, Star, this means you could have been right! Marco came back and he hasn't aged a day. There has to be something magical behind this, these things don't just happen."

The woman listened to the both of them but their words didn't seem to impact her. She heard their words, but was stuck in the moment, processing all of it. "Star...Star!" Jackie addressed her to snap her out of what ever set of mind she was in. "Are you okay?" Star didn't seem to be coping well at all at this point. She was pale, well, more pale than usual and her face seemed flushed of life. Her eyes drooped with lack of sleep and red from stress. She ignored Marco's request for whine, and sipped on her own with little to no words leaving her lips. Every now and again a silent tear fell from her cheek as her mind revisited old memories that where now the most painful memories of her life. Marco couldn't stand seeing star thing way, it hurt, he didn't like seeing the pain, and confusion, denial on her face. "Star..." He started. "I don't know the full details about what's happened to you these past ten years, but nothing has changed for me, I still love you and miss you, I'm so sorry this happened. I never wanted any of this to happen." said Marco, trying to say something that would reach his estranged love.

"You said you were coming back, and you didn't." She said softly, without looking directly at Marco. "I know, I didn't want it to be like this. But I'm here now, and I love you, and I want to be with you. I dunno, maybe we can find some kind of spell to age me up or something- and I... I can't imagine how hard it was for you after I disappeared all those years ago, and I know I can't-" "Can't what, Marco?" started Star as she raised her voice slightly and locked eyes with Marco. "Give me back the four years I spent pulling out my own hair, scratching away my skin, biting my fingernails off looking for a way to bring you back, while I starved myself and deprived myself of sleep until I could find even a little piece of bullshit information that suggested you could possibly be alive?!" She said, voice quivering. "Star, none of that was my fault! It was out of my hands!" interjected Marco. "What about the 6 years I spent afterwards, accepting you were gone and agreeing to settle down with the most C+ husband in the multiverse, because I decided to focus on the welfare of my kingdom instead of my own happiness!" said Star, practically yelling. Marco and Jackie fell silent. "Do you have ANY IDEA what it's like to hallucinate your dead boyfriend for years?! To feel yourself lose control of your brain?" She said, tears rolling down her face. "S-Star, I swear I'm r-" "I KNOW you're really here! And I have no idea what to think!" interjected Star. "What did you expect would happen here? That I'd just magically fix your timeline like a broken bone and then leave my fiance, abandon my kingdom, and destabilize my entire life AGAIN so I can go fool around with my dead ex-boyfriend?" said Star, clutching her hair. She felt like she was losing her mind again. Did Marco really just think she could bring her adult life to a screeching halt to be with him, especially with her now being an adult and him still being a kid? Just then, Jackie's words ringed out in the back of her head, and she had a point. Star WAS right! Marco's disappearance had to be magic related for him to just return randomly, without having aged a day! This realization eased Star in the sense that now she knew she never was actually crazy, but it didn't make the present situation any easier.

Jackie stepped in between before another word escaped from their lips. "Whoa whoa whoa. Okay. Marco? Can you step out please?" Asked Jackie as she took a hold of Stars wrists to keep her from pulling out her hair viciously like she had seen her do just a couple of years ago. It was instinct at this point for her to grab Star, calm her down, and hug her and that's just what Jackie did while Marco watched from the doorway, dumbfounded and heartbroken. "Look at me Star, breathe... This isn't how you want this day to go and you know it." Jackie said firmly. Star had tears streaming down her face and she took sharp panicked breaths looking at Marco. "Don't look at him, look at me, remember how this goes?" She asked. Stars eyes darted between the two before finally settling in Jackie's stare and nodded, the two just took a few breaths in sync together. In and out. Long drawn out breaths made to lower heart rate. after a while Star calmed and her body felt weak and heavy from lack of sleep, the emotional roller coaster she is facing wasn't helping ether . Feeling the dead weight from star relaxing, Jackie pulled her into a hug where the queen finished her sobbing and gathered herself in her friends arms just enough to face the truth.

"..I'm sorry." She said, panting. "This is all just-" "Completely insane?" interjected Jackie. "Yes! Absolutely insane. I need.. I need to talk to Marco alone for a minute. I need to do this right." She said, pinching her forehead. Jackie nodded and stepped into the hallway where Marco was waiting. "Buck up, champ. She wants to talk to you." said Jackie with a smile, sending him in. Marco stepped inside with caution, Star's rage had scared the hell out of him. They stood and looked at each other for a moment, and then Star embraced him in a tight hug. Marco hugged back, fighting back tears. "I missed you so much.." He said softly. Star kissed him on the forehead and touched his cheek softly. "I've missed you more than you can imagine... sit down, please." Instructed Star. Marco sat down and Star sat across from him. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you, you didn't deserve that... if my mother was here she probably would have told me it wasn't very Queen like." said Star, sipping her glass of wine. "I can hear that lecture now.." said Marco with a soft smile. "I can't believe you haven't aged at all, after all this time. Still so handsome.." She said, taking another sip. She was fighting back a frown, not liking what she was about to do to the poor boy.

"And you have grown more beautiful than I could have ever imag-" Star held up her hand, palm out to stop him. Something about being complimented before she was about to rip his heart about made her crack a bit, and show her true weakness she was fighting back. There was a moment of silence as star caught her breath and swallowed down her emotions again. "Thank you... " She stated simply. "Star, can I please just say something. " Marco spoke up getting a little tired of not being able to speak himself in such intense times. "Marco, I know what you want... I can't give it to you..." She said through clenched teeth looking away. "I'm kind of figuring that out..." Marco sighed feeling a part of him die inside as he admitted it himself. "These types of things have to be handled in a certain way that is very delicate and calculated, as they're tremendously complex, I'm sure you understand." said Star, changing her tone a bit. "I do.." said Marco, cautiously, unsure of where she was about to take this. "Good, now you and Jackie should return to Earth promptly. " Star stated as the color from Marco's face drained. "Wait what?" Marco began the panic. "But I just got here?!" Star stood up. "And I must return to bed, we don't want the King to charge you with treason for trying to win over his queen." responded Star as she began exiting the room.

"So that's it? I just get to lose fucking everything then? My home, my mother, getting to watch my brother grow up? And now you? You're just sending me off so you can continue pretending I'm dead? Maybe thinking we could still be together was a little far fetched, fine, but I thought we'd at least still be friends!" said Marco, now furious and frustrated as all hell, with tears running down his face. Star couldn't bear to turn back and face him as she began walking out of the room. "...Your return has confirmed something. That I was right. Your disappearance must have been magic related. I will investigate on my own time, I'm queen. I have better resources now. When I have news, I'll make contact with you. But until then.." she trailed off, voice quivering. "It's best that we don't talk or see each other. Everyone here.. everyone thinks you're still dead. Until we can figure things out, it's best that the people continue to believe that." She stammered out. "So I just sit around and wait, and hope that you will eventually come back to talk to me? How do I know whether or not you're really going to? What if I wait for months and hear nothing?" He protested, tears streaming down his cheeks. Star hesitated not sure if what she was hearing was right... but it was. she felt something snap, and suddenly she felt disassociated from the room. Her dead gaze laid upon Marco who echoed his own words within his head, hearing the irony now that it was to late. "Welcome to the world of government secrecy... Goodnight, Marco Diaz. " and with that, she headed back to her bedroom. She passed Jackie in the hall whom she ignored and b lined to the safety of her husband who would for sure ward away the unwanted company if the chose to pursue her. Marco did, but stopped at Jackie's side, tears still fresh and dripping.

* * *

"I'm going to fucking throw up." said Marco, basically spitting the words. "That bad huh? Y'know, I don't think I've heard you say 'fuck' like, ever." said Jackie, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You know, I'm starting to think that plane crashed and I'm really dead, and this is hell. I'm in hell, Jackie!" said Marco, starting to freak out as he took out his dimensional scissors and opened a portal back to Jackie's shop. Jackie followed Marco through the portal and grabbed his shoulder before he could run off in his blinded sorrow.

"Hell's a lot hotter, trust me." Jackie reassured him. "Sit down and try to relax man... Things will get solved." "My girlfriend got married in under 20 hours!" Marco snapped around and spat his words at Jackie. "One day I'm talking to her, she says she loves me, the next she's grown a foot taller, has boobs out of no where, got hitched, now she wants nothing to do with me?! How do I relax?!" Marco's voice was shrill and frantic. Jackie's nose wrinkled not liking the emotions that where just hurled at her so aggressively, but kept level headed. He was a kid after all. "Look man, You know what I meant, go sit in the break room watch some TV, gather yourself. I need to take you back home soon... I need to go home too, and sleep. I'm back on my normal work schedule for a while. You know if you need anything I will make time for you, but you need to level out first dude..." said Jackie, firmly.

"Level out? Level out!? Nothing about any of this is even remotely level!" exclaimed Marco. "Star wants next to nothing to do with me, my little brother looks at me like I'm a stranger, my home is gone, my dad barely lets me do anything now because he thinks I'll just disappear again, and I _fucking_ miss my Mom!" He yelled through loud sobs. "Y'know what? Just take me back to my Dad's place. At least there I can go to sleep, and at least when I'm asleep it's like I'm dead for real." He said, turning to walk towards the car, but before he could, Jackie gripped his wrist and pulled him into a tight hug. She didn't appreciate being screamed at, but it was clear Marco needed some kind of physical comfort. He may have been 15, but he was still a kid, and no kid should ever have to go through what Marco was going through. At first being pulled into a hug enraged him, he grabbed fistfuls of her shirt ready to yank her off, but something made him hesitate. He hadn't realized out touch deprived he had been, and he almost immediately started to calm down and sink his wight onto her similar to how Star had earlier. His cries didn't stop, but at least they where far less violent. His fists shook before his grip on the shirt loosened and soon dropped as he let go and just hugged back, crying. Jackie just held him and swayed slightly side to side, rocking him as she comforted him. She didn't say anything and just let Marco get what he needed out. it hurt to see him like this, she felt her throat getting tight as sadness washed over her, but she kept it hidden. what mattered now was making sure Marco was okay, and to make sure he is safe. right now, she didn't want to bring him home, she wanted to keep him around and make sure he didn't do anything stupid in his depressive episode, but that wasn't a choice she could make. eventually he would have to go home, and pretend non of this happened. That scared her.

"Are you going to be okay if you go home? Will you be able to act like we had a normal day?" asked Jackie, reminding him that his dad couldn't know where they had gone. "If I'm being honest.. my dad would be able to read me like a book right now.." He said, voice muffled as his face was still buried in her shirt. Jackie patted his back. "Why don't you crash at my place tonight? I want to keep an eye on you. I don't think it's a healthy idea for you to go home and act like none of this happened." She said to the boy. Marco parted from her and looked up at her. "My Dad won't go for it.." He said, sniffling. "Let me handle him." said Jackie as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Rafael's number. "Hey Raf! Yes. Yes everything is good Marco was fine, there was just a little hiccup- he had a bit of a panic attack at the mall, he's not feeling very good at all. If it's okay with you, I'd like to keep him tonight, and just make sure he'a okay." She spoke into the phone. Marco heard some indistinct chatter from the other end. After a minute or so, Jackie chuckled. "Believe me Rafael, I can read teenagers like a book. Sometimes, it's better for them to talk to their friends about their issues instead of parents. Don't worry, I'll make sure he stays safe. Yes, I'll have him home at noon tomorrow. Yes, I can absolutely throw his clothes in the wash- by the way I went AWOL and took him clothes shopping. His wardrobe is soooo 2018. Hahaha! Yes, no problem Rafael. Tell MJ I said good night! See ya tomorrow!" Click. "Done and done." Said Jackie to Marco, who looked quite surprised. "How did you do that?" asked Marco. "I told you, I'm good with parents. Also your Dad can pretty much never say no to me." She said with a smile. Jackie gave the boy two solid pats on the back, and they ended their embrace. She grabbed her keys and hit the unlock button, prompting her car to been short and quickly twice just outside. "Let's get to my place before it gets too dark." She offered. Marco stepped back and wiped the back of his hand over his wet cheeks with a sniffle and a nod. Once again Marco followed Jackie's lead and headed out of the shop into her car. As Jackie drove, every now and again she would look Marco down from the corner of her eye to try to read his mindset and mood without stepping over boundaries. He seems spaced out again, and every now and again she could hear him choke up as he revisited painful thoughts. It hurt to just sit. His mind wouldn't slow down. He looked over the old texts on his phone, just trying to find comfort in Star's words of love and support he received while away but it just seemed to pour salt in the wounds of the situation.

Marco shut off his phone and put it away. The Star Butterfly he once knew was gone, and she it was evident she wasn't coming back; not anytime soon, at least.

* * *

 ***sad song on the worlds smallest violin***

 **Next chapter will be less emotionally exhausting, I swear. in fact- It'll be a Star chapter!**


	5. Up In Smoke

**sorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry for the delay yall, we can only update this story as often as we rp and that can be difficult sometimes between work and college. it just be like that sometimes.**

 **oh and i know this said this would be a star chapter but it's probably gonna be a little more half and half. again, it just be like that sometimes** **¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/¯**

* * *

Eventually the two rolled up to Jackie's apartment. It was a 10 story building only 3 blocks from the beach. They went inside and took the elevator to the 5th floor and walked down the hallway to Jackie's door. "Welcome to Casa Jackie~" She said in a relatively upbeat tone. She showed Marco around. Her living room and kitchen were connected in the same room, and everything was decorated with beach decor. It was very cozy. Jackie then showed him the bathroom and her one bedroom; the bathroom walls were painted seafoam green and the bedroom was pretty much decorated the same way as her living room, except it was messier. Jackie apparently had a habit of leaving laundry on the floor; shirts, underwear, leggings, you name it. Despite the rest of the place being well kept, the sloppiness of her bedroom reminded him of Star. Before Marco could let that reminder hurt too much, he got a whiff of an odd smell coming from Jackie's bedroom. "Hey, uh, not to be a jerk but, what's that smell? It's like, skunky? Kinda?" He asked, sniffling a little.

Jacky laughed and shut the door. "Damn I didn't think it was that bad, I guess I've gone nose blind to it." She chuckled walking to her kitchen. "To what?" Marco asked confused. It was so pungent, and strong, what could possibly smell like this? Jacky bent down and opened the cabinet beneath her sink, and she pulled out a large thin aqua glitter glass bong and a large rose gold grinder and set them on the counter. " Just some good ol' ganja." She sang playfully. Marco's mouth dropped, he never expected this! Well- then again, it _was_ Jackie. If you looked up "southern California surfer chick" in the dictionary, you'd probably find a picture of her. So yeah, the more he thought about it, _of course_ Jackie would smoke pot. Still though, the news came as a shock. The stuff was illegal never had he seen it in person before. "Dude, you mean like weed?" He stuttered. " Yes, Marco, like weed. Come on dude, I'll let you have some. It'll help calm your nerves." Marco, still young and a child started to panic a bit, not expecting these things to be handed to him. "Uhh I don't know.. won't that show up in my pee or something, preventing me from ever getting a job?" he asked in an anxious voice. Jacking snorted before laughing at Marco's naivety. "Dude, this got legalized, like, 7 years ago. Now you have to be 21 to grab a joint, like alcohol. It's no big whoop. Also, like, a few hits will be out of your system in a week, trust me." explained Jackie.

"7 years!?" said Marco. "Yes dude. Need I remind you how long you were on that plane?" She chuckled. "I know how long I was on the stupid plane!" said Marco, quickly. It made him think for a moment. Before everything happened, weed was still illegal. Hell, a lot of things were still illegal. He should probably take some time at some point to brush up on current laws. Marco doesn't even know who the current President of the United States is! "C'mon. Take a rip. I won't tell anyone." started Jackie, snapping Marco out of his trance."It'll calm you down, probably put you to sleep if anything." she said. Marco looked at Jackie, then at the bong, then at his reflection in the mirror on Jackie's wall. He looked tired from crying. He felt emotionally exhausted. He let out an extended sigh and turned back to Jackie. "Alright. One bowl or whatever you call it, then it's off to bed. But only one!"

* * *

After that little encounter, Star had returned to bed but hardly slept a wink. She was feeling so many emotions. Sad, that Marco was having trouble coming to terms with his new; frustrated, that he thought he could be so naive as to think he could just waltz back into her life. But also excited that Marco was alive, and ecstatic that she was never crazy! Marco was back, and still 14- that meant something magical was behind this whole thing. It didn't undo the mental torture she endured as a teen while she was coming to terms with Marco's "death," but it was something. After sleeping very scarcely she woke up next to Tom, who was beginning to stir. What was she to tell him? "Hey by the way, Marco is alive. How did you sleep?" Yeah. Like that was gonna go over well. She had to get more information before she went to Tom with this.

Tom rolled over in bed and put an arm around his wife. He snuggled in when he some how noticed she was stiff, and facing away from him, unusual... He woke slightly and peeped open his third eye ever so slightly to peep at his queen. "Star?" He asked in a gentle hushed whisper. " Go to bed Tom..." She responded irked, not wanting to mess with this at this hour. The new king of Mewni now had all his eyes open, and his chest felt tight with confusion and worry but he just didn't know what to do about it. so he laid back down, that's what she wanted... right? "Uhh.. y'know Starship, if you need to talk about something, you can talk to me.." He said gently. "Thank you, sweetie. I do not want to talk, but thank you." She said firmly.

After laying in bed a good while, Star decided to get up and get ready for the day. She went through her routine of getting dressed and putting on makeup with the aid of her servants. At breakfast she met back up with Tom. Before Tom could even greet her, Star was already speaking. "Tom, I need you to cover my morning duties. Just a couple addresses I need you to do. Manfred will brief you. I have someone I need to meet with." said Star. "Oh, uh, sure Starship! I'm happy to help. Who are you seeing?" asked Tom. "It's.. it's personal, and kind of complicated." said Star, rubbing her temples as she shoved a pastry in her mouth. "Star, I'm your husband, you can tell me these things" said Tom, earning a sigh from Star. "I just... I just need to do this on my own right now Tom. Everything will make sense soon, I promise." She said as she exited the dining hall. Tom couldn't know Marco was alive, not yet. But for right now, Star had to see Hekapoo. Star recalled the close relationship Hekapoo had with Marco, it felt right to tell her first. Not to mention that she'd maybe have some advice or even information on where to start in regards to solving this damn mystery. As she got her scissors out, she then realized- she had no proof Marco was alive! What made her think Hekapoo would believe her? If only she had an article of clothing, or hell, maybe she should go to Earth and borrow Marco for an hour. She rubbed her temples and groaned. Today was going to be a long day.

* * *

"That's the spirit!" Jackie beamed as she started packing a bowl. " So... uh, what does it do to you? Do you really start to see colors and stuff?" Jackie snorted again. " Dude, no. That's psychedelics, like acid and shrooms and stuff. Weed just makes you feel like you had the best nap and woke up in the best mood possible." She tried to explain as she pressed down on the bowl, packing it tight to fit a few more pinches in. "So well rested and refreshed?" Marco asked walking over to watch curious. "Kinda" Jackie finished up and picked up the bong turning to Marco. " But more like if you woke up, and your still a bit sleepy groggy, but you feel more than okay, and gives your brain a break in a good way. You wont be overthinking dumb stuff...Well, you'll be overthinking dumb stuff like if cats can be allergic to themselves, but not your ex." she tried to explain.

"I'm not sure I follow..." said Marco scratching the back of his head. "Just see for yourself dude." said Jackie has she packed a bowl and handed the bong to Marco. "Start inhaling when I tell you and don't stop till I tell you, okay?" She instructed. Marco nodded and brought his lips to the opening of the pipe. Jackie told him to start inhaling as she lit the bowl. After a few seconds she took the bowl piece out of the bong and Marco quickly took the whole hit, holding it in for maybe half a second before blowing it out in a coughing fit. Jackie handed him some water. "Not bad for your first bong rip. If you ever wanna smoke, you come here okay? Weed is all fun and good but only if you do it in a safe environment with friends." She said. Marco heard her words, but wasn't quite processing them. He wasn't dissociating, but boy was he feeling something.

It was a sudden head rush he wasn't expecting. It felt like if some one had pinched the stem of his brain and now everything became more relaxed in a wave of chills. He was gasping for air, and his throat burned but he already felt the other effects override the cons of smoking. He nodded to Jackie's warning swallowing trying to re hydrate his throat. Jackie went ahead and brought the bong up to her lips and pulled a crazy large hit from hit. Watching that white cloud shoot up into her mouth made Marco's throat torch at the thought, but she took it like it was nothing. One, two, three, four, five, she held he breath then let it out her nose. You're not suppose to do that, she knew but she could feel Marco's eyes on her as she admittedly showed off her skills.

"Wow Jackie... you.. seem to know what you're doing." speculated Marco. "I've smoked a lot of pot in the past 10 years Marco, I've been around the block a few times. Now come on, this bowl still has a while to go before it's kicked." said Jackie.

* * *

The two went back and forth for a short while, taking hits and creating a light haze in her living room. Before long, the bowl was empty. "Shiieeet dude, yeah, this bowl is done. How do you feel?" said Jackie. Marco's eyes were beet red. He had zero tolerance for the stuff, so this was all new to him- unlike Jackie who at this point was a veteran smoker. Marco started giggling very hardly at Jackie's question. "Dude, fingers kinda look like fish sticks if you stare at em long enough" He said, practically missing Jackie's question all together. "...Alright slugger, I think you're decently cooked. You should probably just chill." said Jackie, giggling. "Dude I'm cooked like, an egg. I'm hard-boiled, dude." said Marco. "Pffffft hahahaahahaha! Fuck dude you're blasted!" said Jackie, laughing out loud. "Yeaaahh I'm pretty high. This isn't bad. This is probably the best I've felt since I've gotten off the plane." said Marco.

"I hear that my dude, but be careful. Weed is harmless, yeah, but still you shouldn't use it as a crutch. This stuff will kill your productivity if you smoke too much." explained Jackie. "Yeah yeah, relax _Mom_ , I'm not gonna go full burnout." said Marco, chuckling for a moment at his own joke before stopping abruptly and frowning. "Jeez dude. My mom is dead." stated Marco, voice going monotone. "Its probably better if you don't think about tha-" "The universe is insane, Jackie. Like... crazy how things are just.. like... how they are! Like... this all just happened! I mean, it's been 10 years for everyone else, but... I'm like, a time traveler! And it's not even fun, like in the movies. This royally blows! Except this, though. This is fun." he said, gesturing to the bong. "Kinda messed up that weed is the most fun I've had since this all happened, huh?" said Marco, now finished interrupting his friend.

Jackie was a bit floored by the whole monologue. Then again, she was a little high, and her brain wasn't exactly operating at full steam. "...Yeah buddy, life is wack..." she said as a short silence ensued. "Maybe we should get to sleep before you really bug out, dude. The pull out part of my pull out couch is kinda busted... but you can crash on the actual couch part if you want. My bed is also huuuuuuge and I don't mind sharing, got me a pretty dope TV too." said Jackie, yawning.

The boy sat there thinking, it was like if he didn't hear a word the woman said. Jackie sighed, she could see the thoughts running in his head, he looked like her was distraught, yet, not in pain from it. The drug had made his nerves numb and he could go into deeper thought without feeling the burn as he explored them. He was thinking about Angie, thinking about her last days. Her being in bed, weak, and probably unable to even walk due to being subdued by her illness. Maybe she let go of life easily on her death bed thinking that once she passed she would be reunited with her long lost son. If Marco was there would she have let go? Now she's dead. and if heaven does exist, shes there probably still feeling the same pains of loss as her son was no where to be found there ether. Marco wasn't big on religion, as he had seen many worlds beyond those of the bible, but he till feared these situations. "Hey." Jackie's words finally where heard. apparently she had been trying to get his attention for a while because she looked worried and even though she was high as balls, she was focused on him and stood up once he finally looked back at her. "Come on champ." She started and took his hand" Stop thinking for a moment. Try to rest." She insisted. " Lets get you tucked in. " She lead the boy down to her bedroom and turned on the TV that was mounted onto the wall. "Your bed? Are you sure?" "Look, I already asked you if you wanted the bed or sofa, you didn't answer so I chose for you. Besides, a good night's sleep will do you good. " She explained. Marco was a tad embarrassed but didn't let it shake his world or anything. He climbed into bed under the covers and Jackie laid down next to him on top of the sheets. She flipped through the channels and settled on up beat cartoons. she grabbed a blanket from the foot of the bed and covered herself with that. She wasn't going to get too comfortable with her childhood ex, who was emotionally wrecked at the moment. Last thing she needed was him to fall for her again due to rebound situations and be denied again, cause, well he's a still a fucking kid some how.

* * *

Star headed back to the royal bedroom and dug around a bit till her hand landed on the book of spells. She took a deep breath and flipped open its heavy leather bound cover and skipped to Eclipsa's chapter, the all seeing eye. The pages where all dark, and purple. It was a page she hadn't visited in a long time due to the painful memories of loss it brought with it. But today was different. She checked the halls to make sure all was clear, locked the door and wielded her wand. She took a deep inhale in and spoke firmly "I summon the All Seeing Eye To tear a hole into the sky Reveal to me that which is hidden Unveil to me what is forbidden! " a portal ripped open in a dark thundering smokey haze and found Marco, In bed laying there with Jackie. It hurt... why? The sudden tightness in her chest made her disturbed, but she didnt think much of it. anything Marco related had disturbed her for the past ten years, why would this be any different? It definitely was old insecurities already being revived or anything. _No, no way_. She shook her head to clear it and took another breath. At least it was Jackie there and no one else, it was time to visit, now would be best as she at least was caught up on both sides. She reached for her scissors and cut through space and time, ripping a hole into Earth's dimension right by the Jackie's bed, and stepped out to only be greeted by the strongest of smells. She pinched her nose. "Ugh.." she muttered to herself. She had spent enough time on Earth to know full well what weed is. She used to smell on Oskar constantly.

Jackie was caught off guard by the sudden portal opening up in her dark bedroom. "Whoa!" She exclaimed, making Marco shoot up in bed. "Huh!? What's happening!?" He yelled, grabbing a fistful of hair. "Guys! Relax! It's just me!" said Star as she closed the portal behind her. "Star? What are you doing here?" asked Jackie, confused. "I, uh, like, second that question." mumbled Marco. "Well first, let me ask why you two are sharing a bed..?" She asked with a quizzical expression on her face. Marco and Jackie looked at each other for a moment, eyes going wide when they realized what Star was implying. "Whoa, uh, it's not what you think!" said Marco. "Dude, seriously, I'm like 25. I'm not trying to go to prison. He's only in my bed because we got stoned and he zoned out for like 10 minutes and wouldn't talk, so I decided to put him to sleep." said Jackie. "So you're... babysitting him? And smoking weed, with him?" asked Star. "Well, uh, I wouldn't say babysitting. More like teenager sitting." said Marco, eyes still beet red. Star face-palmed. "He didn't want to go home, and he was kind of having a rough time after the, uh.. the talk. Speaking of which, we like only got back from that a few hours ago, shouldn't you be like, asleep?" asked Jackie.

"Hey, yeah! You said you would like, get back to me or something! I didn't think you meant this quickly." added Marco. Star was perplexed by this. "That doesn't make any sense! I just slept a whole night on Mewni... this is odd. Usually the days and nights on Mewni are the same as Earth. Why is Mewni's Timeline now moving faster than Earths?" asked Star, tapping her chin. "Ugh, that's a problem for another day. I came here because I need Marco for something." said Star. "Need me for what?" He asked, now getting anxious. "Yeah dude he's stoned as hell, he probably shouldn't be going anywhere." added Jackie. "Pshhh, he's talking in mostly coherent sentences. He'll be fine. I just need to take him to Hekapoo's dimension- I need to see if she would know anything about Marco's disappearance, and she won't believe Marco is alive without proof. And what better proof is there than the man himself?" said Star with a nonchalant smile. "And let's make it hasty, it reeks in here." she added, making an unamused face.

Star took his hand and pulled the groggy boy out of bed and cut open a portal. "Whoa whoa wait wait wait!" Marco protested, feeling weird from the mixed emotions that being high mixed with seeing adult Star made him feel. It was hard to keep up, but Marco was finally starting to grasp it more, and panic less. "Wait..." He said taking a breath. Star stopped and looked down at him. She was still holding his hand, small in hers. She felt a deep pressure in her chest and let go. Marco didn't seem to notice she had his hand till she dropped it and it just kind of hung in the air there a moment before he awkwardly put it in his hoodie pocket. It was weird how use to being tugged around he was by Star. It was only a few days for him after all... but it was 10 years for Star. He swallowed and forced that thought away before his high mind expanded on it. Jackie saw him trail off being stoned and all and wrinkled her nose. "Go on Diaz, Maybe a magical adventure is what your missing." She winked at him. Perhaps it was because they were both high, but Jackie seemed to think it was a good idea. And Jackie was smart, right? So Marco could trust her. At least, that was his train of thought. Marco hesitated and turned back to Star who was holding the portal open. "Alright... Okay... Let's go find Heckapoo." Star offered him a smile, the first smile he had seen from her in a long while. "After you then." "Alright." He straightened his posture and hopped through. Marco felt disoriented almost immediately after passing through the portal. He swayed side-to-side getting used to his body balancing on a hefty feet. Being stoned really does make your body feel heavier and it was really throwing him for a trip. He looked up and saw that star had already made it through the portal behind him but held an unreadable expression as she stared. At him. "I'm alright just a little high no need to w-" as he raised his hands to gesture waving away worry, he noticed his skin was thicker, worn and cracked. How could he have completely forgotten? He was a man on Heckapoo's timeline!

"Heyyyyyyyy my adult body!" said Marco looking down at himself with a smile, poking his abs and grabbing at his face. After a moment, Star tried to get his attention. "Uhh, you good Marco?" asked Star, watching the boy-turned-man grasp his face. Star had forgotten how dashing his adult form was. She could feel herself getting lost in his handsome face all over again. A small part of her wished he wasn't still a kid on Earth. "Yeah! Yeah I'm fine. I'm just- _Fuck_. I'm really high." He said rubbing his eyes and composing himself. Star giggled at him. "Sorry for not coming at a better time.." she said, relaxing her tone. "Y'know, Star, if there's anything I've learned from all of this, it's that there's never a better time for everything. Things just happen. One day you get on a plane, next thing you know your mom is dead and your now-adult ex girlfriend is giving you weed. Life is funny!" said Marco, spouting a random bout of dark humor. "...Let's go find Hekapoo." She said as they began walking. That wasn't a conversation Star felt like diving into at the moment. After what felt like an hour they finally arrived at Hekapoo's lair. Star knocked on the door rather heftily. "Hekapoo! Open up! It's important!" She exclaimed as Hekapoo trudged to the door.

"What's the big idea knocking on my- MUSCLES!?" yelled Hekapoo in shock as she laid eyes on Marco's face. Hekapoo immediately wrapped Marco in an encompassing hug. "I-Is this real?" She asked, in total shock as she felt Marco's face. "It's all starting to feel like a fever dream, but yeah, it's me H-Poo." He said with a smile. Hekapoo started tearing up and hugged him super tightly. Marco was a tad surprised by this. This was very much opposite the reaction he had gotten from Star. He tried not to think too much about it, he was exhausted and high as shit. Instead he decided to hug back- it was good to see Hekapoo after all. "We should go inside.." said Star, breaking the silence.

"We have a lot to discuss."


	6. Like Old Times

**hey guys we back. this chapter is gonna be a chapter. a cool chapter. a good chapter. i was rlly high while we were rp'ing some of it, hoping it didn't diminish the quality. i dunno. i always usually have something relatively meaningful to say at the beginning of these things but this time im just kinda winging it lol**

 **anyone here listen to chon?**

* * *

"We should go inside.." said Star, breaking the silence. "We have a lot to discuss." She said.

"Yeah we do, come on. " Hekapoo stepped aside and let the queen and dragon rider into her home. As Marco passed she slapped him upside the head, singeing his hair in an all to familiar manner. "Hay?!" Marco barked in protest touching the burnt spot. "I've missed this." She snickered as she followed in behind him and shut the door. The living room was decorated with many trophies from Hekapoo's centuries of questing. Swords where thrown into wooden panels and left as decorations, they stuck out every which way. The sofa was a brilliant red mahogany with dark velvety fabric and has a love seat to match with it. It was placed in front of a fire place, which made Marco's high ass think about why she would need a fire place if she is on fire all the time. Star saw him space out and woke him back up by tugging on his wrist to join her seated on the sofa. Hekapoo sat on the love seat and looked between the two, she seemed ultimately in a good mood, sure she was hard to get, but she was genuinely happy her friend was alive and okay.

As they sat down, Marco scratched the back of his head. "Hey, why do you need a fire place if you're literally on fire like, always?" He asked. Star face-palmed. "For corns sake- I'm sorry about him Hekapoo, he hasn't slept and he's high as a kite. Do you have anything that will sober/wake him up?" She asked the red haired immortal. Hekapoo snapped her fingers and a mug of mysterious orange liquid appeared out of nowhere in a burst of flames, and she slid it over to Marco. He took a sip and immediately winced in pain. "Ahh! Hot hot hot!" He exclaimed. "Hekapoo, do you know what that is?" asked Star, urgently. "Hot, it's hot." said Hekapoo nonchalantly. "Damn straight it is! Jeez!" exclaimed Marco. "Y'know, they say if it's orange it's healthy for you." stated Hekapoo. " _No one_ has ever said that." said Star, pinching the bridge of her nose. They were getting off topic. She was here for information. She figured a good place to start would be to ask her if she noticed any weird dimensional rifts that opened up the day Marco disappeared on Earth, or anything.

"Okay, we need to focus. Hekapoo- do you know if there were any abnormalities in interdimensional traffic the day of Marco's disappearance?" asked Star, being straightforward.

"I don't know off the top of my head, but I know a way to check." said Hekapoo. She got up from the table and stood towards the giant fire pit in the center of her lair. "What was the exact date on Earth he went missing on?" She asked. "August 17th, 2018." answered both Star and Marco in unison. Marco was surprised by that. "You remember the date..?" asked Marco. "Of course I do... I remember being so excited, and then crushed the next day when I found out your plane never landed.. my entire life flipped upside down that day.." she said, her tone turning to that of a somber one. Meanwhile, Hekapoo has raised her arms, conjuring a massive lava portal, showing her endless magical symbols and images. After a moment, she stopped, allowing the lava to splash back down into the pit. "So there wasn't actually anything dimension related out of the ordinary that day..." said Hekapoo. "But, there was a major time-space disruption. Which means-" "Omnitraxus Prime.." said Star, finishing Hekapoo's thought. She knew that meant trouble. Omnitraxus's dimension has been blocked off for several years due to a mysterious temporal barrier. No one could figure out why. His spot on the high commission has been vacant ever since. Not even Glossaryck was able to reach him. But Omnitraxus seemed to be the key, he had to be.

Star sat there a moment. She thought she would be ready for a lead, all these years that's all the prayed and hoped for. But now that she had one she was dumbfounded, and felt her chest tighten."That motherfucker! Of course!" She blurted out making Marco jump and Hekapoo simply just look her way. "All this time I didn't even think about Omnitraxus, years?! I didn't even think to come to you!" She said gesturing towards Hekapoo who crossed her arms and raised a brow. "If I recall correctly you where not very fond of me and called me a liar, claiming I was hiding some other conspiracy theory." Huffed the redhead. "Can you blame me after Meteora?!" Shouted star back. "Hay hay easy easy..." Marco stood up and put himself between the two cats ready to throw down... Well more like Star, Hekapoo looked like she didn't care, but Marco knew that was her default mask to hide anything emotion she may be feeling at the moment. "We have a lead, that's the farthest we have gotten! So what's next?" The two girls glanced at each other than back to Marco. "Find Omnitraxus right?" Marco proposed only to see both of their faces sink. "Good try kid. " Said Hekapoo. "We have no way to get to him... The scissors can't cut through what ever barrier has been put in front of his dimension." explained Star. "Y'know, now that I think about it, Omni threw up that barrier not long after your breakdown on Earth, Star. Sounds.. a little too coincidental..." started Hekapoo. "And, there _may_ be a chance we can get on Omni's home turf, but it's a theory if anything" she said. "Well, by all means, spit it out!" exclaimed Star.

"Well, Father Time's dimension is actually cellular dimension within Omni's. That means it's essentially a dimension encompassed within a dimension, if that makes sense. Basically, it means traveling to Omni from within Father Time's dimension could be easier- in theory- with a powerful enough pair of scissors. But building such a pair of scissors will take time. I need certain ingredients, ones that aren't of typical scissors. Collecting the various ingredients will take time." explained Hekapoo. "Okay! So we'll get the ingredients!" exclaimed Marco. Star was rubbing her temples. That was going to take forever! But it was their only shot.

"What do we need?" Star asked placing a hand on her hip and the other on her forehead to pinch her temple. "Silk from the steel spider from the Spiderbite's underground caves. And Iron ore from the deepest depths of the underworld. A drop of lava from the under water volcanoes of the restless seas dimension. " Listed off Hekapoo. "It's the only way to make blades strong enough to slice through without chipping, bending or shattering."

"That's insane! We really need to hit all those places?" exclaimed Star. "It won't be so bad, it'll be just like old times!" said Marco with a sheepish smile. Star sighed. Marco was right- it was gonna be just like old times. That part made her kinda happy, but what she was sighing about is how she was going to explain going on 3 separate quests, All equally long and treacherous, to her fiance! "Alright Hekapoo, we'll gather these ingredients. But I need to gather supplies for this quest first, and I also need to figure out a way to tell Tom all of this." She said with a worried cadence. "In the meantime, Marco, you should go back to Earth and get some rest. I don't want Jackie or your father to worry. I'm sorry for dragging you here half asleep and high." said Star, rubbing the back of her head.

Marco had an impulse to just forget about earth, and offer all of himself to the quest, just as he had done when Meteora had come for butterfly castle. But just thinking about what that would do to his dad made him revoke the idea and let out a deep sigh. "Yeah your right I should go. But don't be sorry. I wanted to be here. Thank you." Hekapoo and star both smiled at Marco who got a little flustered with both of their eyes on him. "alright. Back to earth I go, heh.." he gave a nervous chuckle. Star stepped forward with her scissors and cut open a portal for him. "I'll be back to get you in the morning. You have till then to get some cover up story for your absence." She advised to which Marco nodded agreeing with the plan. "Good night Star." "Good night.." she responded with a seconds hesitance. Marco stepped through and stood in Jackie's bedroom. She had fallen asleep on top of the cover waiting for him to return. He was small again. His hands where soft and no longer worn from years of fighting. He sighed, walked out of the room and laid down on the sofa in her living room. He stared at the ceiling for what felt like a good few hours till he fell asleep.

* * *

"Marco! Marcooo! Rise and shine princess!" said Jackie, gently shaking him awake. "Huh?" He said waking up. "Time to get up dude, your dad wants you home in 30 minute. Sorry for being a nagging mom about It but Raf will totally have my ass." said Jackie, putting on her shoes. Marco shot up off the couch and splashed water in his face. He was still fully clothed from the night before so he was basically ready to go. He was ready to take the shower of a lifetime when he got home. They exited her apartment and walked to her car. Once on the road, Jackie put the radio on low volume. "So how was your big, magical adventure last night champ?" She asked.

Marco shifted in his seat and grabbed the belt that crossed his chest. It was weird being a kid again. "It was like old times." He responded, thinking about it. "That's good right?" Asked Jackie raising a brow. "Yeah... I mean of course Star isn't as childishly happy and playful as she use to be... But I think maybe that could change... We have to go on multiple magical quests... She seemed stressed about it... But I'm actually excited I think... Is that'd bad?" He spilled the beans of honesty, he felt comfortable with Jackie knowing these things. He trusted her. And she seemed to understand him. "I don't think it's bad at all. " Jackie smiled. "I think you have good reason to be excited and star has good reasons to be stressed. I hope things work out. But how are you going to get away from your dad. If you haven't noticed he's been pretty protective of you since your return. " Marco sighed ."Don't remind me about it. I'll figure something out. " "Well good luck man. " Jackie wished him well as she pulled up to the house. "Thanks." Marco stepped out of the car. "I'll need it." Jackie waved and drove off. The boy turned to his house and sighed. It was still weird to see this run down place instead of his warm old house. He shook that thought free from his head and walked in.

"Mijo! How was your sleepover?" asked Raf as he walked in. "Good, I'm really tired though." He said to his father. Raf was about to respond when he sniffed the air around Marco. "Marco... is that marijuana I smell? Did Jackie give you some of her weed?" He asked, immediately recognizing the smell. "Uhhhhh... yeah.." said Marco sheepishly. "Well, no harm done. But only with Jackie! I trust her." He said, spinning his tone to an upbeat one. "Oh.. uh, sure Dad!" Said Marco, surprises at his response. Rafael then put a white box in Marco's hands. "Here's your new phone Mijo! I figured you needed a new one, your old one being 10 years old now." He said.

"A new phone?" Marco echoed. He hadn't even had enough time to worry about getting his hands on newer tech yet. "Si, I need to be able to get a hold of you, and that old one just isn't reliable. So I got you what I could! It's not the best but it sure does beat that old thing. Marco opened the box and pulled out the light weighted tech. It was like a pen, but with a push of a button a glass screen popped out of it's side show a touch screen interface. It was see through but with a push of a button it could shade it's back side black for privacy. The glass was strong and could handle a good few drops. But probably not to many. It was still a phone after all. Marco poked around on it awkwardly feeling old and out of date not knowing how to operate all it's functions. "Thanks Dad. You didn't have too." "Oh yes I did! I can't imagine losing touch with you ever again!' Marco felt a little sheepish. He had to sneak away and fast, he felt guilty about it.

"By the way dad, Jackie's offered me a job in her shop, I think I'm gonna take it. I think it could really help me get reacquainted with well, everything. I think it'll be really good for me." said Marco, scratching the back of his head. He was totally lying, he hadn't even told Jackie he was gonna take the job. But Marco knew she would cover for him, Jackie was cool. Raf gave an almost nervous smile. "Aye! I- uh, I agree Mijo! It'll be fantastica..." he said, being as supportive as he could.

Any job that would take his boy who was lacking ten years of basic modern know how was a blessing. It seemed more fitting then trying to send Marco back to school. Sure, Raphael planned on making him eventually get his GED but that was for another time. Raphael pulled Marco into a big hug "I'm so proud of you Mijo, getting employed is very impressive. " He continued to praise. Marco scratched the back of his head. "Heh yeah, I actually need to go for orientation soon. Jackie wants to get me in as fast as possible so I'll have to spend quite some time there."

"Orientation? To work in a surf shop?" asked Rafael, with a confused look on his face. "Yeah, it's tomorrow! It's gonna take a while so I'll probably be gone for like... the whole day! And I'll have to go back everyday this week before I get my work schedule! I need to know how everything in the store works, and stuff." He tried to explain convincingly. This job of course was only cover to go on adventures with Star. "Oh! Okay. That checks out." said Rafael with a smile. "Hahaha Yeah... so if you'll excuse me, I need to take a shower." said Marco squeezing past his dad. "Okay Mijo! I'm going to pick up your little brother up from karate. Enjoy your shower!" said Raf as Marco closed the bathroom door behind him. He slid downwards against the door until his rear hit the tile floor. He pulled out his new phone and noticed that his Dad already put some numbers in his contacts- Janna, Jackie, Furg, Alfonso, his Dad, and MJ. He clicked on Jackie's name and started texting her. _"Hey! Marco here.. Dad got me a new phone.. and I figured out how I'm going to cover for going on missions.. my dad thinks I'm working at your shop now, so, uh... I'm gonna need you to cover for me."_ said Marco over text.

He felt guilty lying to his Dad, but right now, it would be necessary. And in a way, he wasn't lying! Jackie _did_ actually need help in the surf shop. And he would help her, Jackie was his friend! But surely if he's gonna be out of the house anyway, he may as well go on an adventure or two with Star, and it wouldn't matter as long as he was home by a certain time, right?

At least, that's how Marco rationalized it.


End file.
